Inches
Any Given Sunday is one of the best movies you can watch about the business of professional football. The movie showcases two of my favorite actors: Al Pacino, who plays the gruff old school coach Tony D’Amato; and Jaime Foxx, who plays the upstart quarterback Willie Beamon. The movie contains several unforgettable scenes and pity observations, including what many consider to be one of the best monologues ever performed by Mr. Pacino, who near the end of the film says these words during a locker room speech:
You find out life's this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game - life or football - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite catch it.
Life and football are about inches. I thought about that observation while reading “Make The Call,” written by Washington Post reporter Sally Jenkins. The book explores six crucial lessons that sports can teach us about life. The final chapter is about failure, and begins by telling the story of how the Kansas City Chiefs lost the 2019 National Football League AFC championship game against the New England Patriots. Leading 28-24 with fifty-four seconds left, they intercepted a pass thrown by Tom Brady. The game appeared to be over. However, a Kansas City Defender named Dee Ford was called for a penalty. He had lined up four inches over the designated line for defensive players and was called offsides. “The penalty negated the interception,” and the Patriots went on to win the game in overtime.
Interestingly, the Chief’s coach Andy Reid did not challenge, carp or complain about the call. Instead, he adopted the phrase “four inches” as the Chief’s rallying cry during the offseason. Every department and every player was charged with the assignment to get “four inches” better. As a result, the Chiefs won the Superbowl the following year. Jenkins shared that incredible story to drive home the even more incredible point that the difference between victory and failure is often only inches.
What an arresting idea!
You may only be inches away from your destiny.
You may only be inches away from a promotion.
You may only be inches away from a breakthrough.
You may only be inches away from a meeting that will change your life.
You may only be inches away from a discovery that will revolutionize your field.
You may only be inches away from whatever your “next” or your “better” is.
As Edgar Guest put it in his poem “Don’t Quit,
“Often the goal is nearer than it seems To a faint and faltering man. Often the struggler has given up when he Might have captured the victor's cup. And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.
I am deeply stirred in my spirit to encourage someone reading this: you are so much closer than you think! You are only inches away. Don’t let the enemy distract you. Don’t allow disappointment rob you. And don’t let depression deter you. You are only inches away from the blessings that God has reserved for you since the beginning of the world. Romans 11:13 reminds us that “our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
Near the end of his earthly life, Jesus invited three of his closest friends to go pray with him. He was worried and anxious about his impending death and both wanted and needed their support. But despite how he was feeling, Matthew 26:39 tells us that after they arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus “…went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
I’m not sure how much farther Jesus went. It may have only been inches. But however farther he went, it was far enough for him to get the strength he needed to endure his cross.
Go a little farther. Pray a little longer. Work a little harder. Be a little kinder.
You are only inches away!