Writing as a Football Team

Now I'm sure from the title some of you are saying, "Go figure. The big, meat-headed football player doesn't know anything else but football," but there are definitely connections that can be made between the two.

The first connection is between the teacher and the coach. This is one of the easy ones. A football coach is there to provide instruction, correct mistakes, and ensure success. An English teacher does the same, but neither the teacher or the coach can do the work for you. Their days as players and students are done.

I see different styles of football offense as equivalents to different styles of writing. I compare hard-nosed, power-style football to writing done for school. It's hard work. Because of time constraints, it may be something that needs to be pounded out; similar to the work of an offensive line. The work isn't always glamorous, but it gets the job done. I compare a spread-type offense to the writing done at home and for fun. To those who are unaware, a spread offense is one that uses a lot of receivers to "spread" the field and makes it harder for the defense to sit in one area. I see this as equal to writing for fun because it is the "pretty" offense. It is the type the fans like to see. Spread it out and throw the ball down the field. A big play can happen at any time, just like a writer's "gush."

Winning in football is exactly like how you feel after you've completed a great piece of writing. You feel amazing. You never want the feeling to end. And just like in football, when you've found something that works, you want to continue to do it in order to continue your success. Losing can also be compared to writing. You can't win every game. Sometimes you fail. This is just like writing. Everything you write can't be a masterpiece. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes you've done everything you could, and all you wind up with is junk. It sucks, but it forces you to work harder on your writing the next time.

"We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible." -- Vince Lombardi