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Sep
16
House! House! House!
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I played college football for Utah State University in the late 80’s, early 90’s. My junior year we played BYU. I think it was the year Ty Detmer won the Heisman—I sacked him that game—it was great. But that’s not why I remember that game. The reason I remember that game is because that’s the game I was run over by the House–475 lbs. of second-string center.
It was the fourth quarter—maybe five minutes left in the game—we were losing. Then I hear the crowd start chanting, first it was low and then it grew to an audible nightmare of unified sound. “House! House! House!”
The largest man I’ve ever seen parted his team mates on the sideline and rumbled on to the field to the frenzied, roar of the crowd. The dude was big. The first play I tried to match his size and strength, well, physics kind of squashes any unrealistic aspirations we may have when it comes to upturning the laws of the universe. At the time I weighed 275 lbs, the House, 475 lbs; I went flying back at least five yards. I heard the crowd roar like the House himself had scored the winning touchdown.
I realized I could never move the House, so I developed a strategy of sacrifice, I would attack the House’s foundation—I went straight for his knees—causing a huge pile in the center of the field. Yes, I was crushed by the House, but my strategy worked. Apparently, the BYU running back, with nowhere to go, bounced off the House’s backside and in to the arms of an awaiting linebacker.
I think strategy is important, whether it’s football, jiu-jitsu, or life. Sometimes a house falls on us, but sometimes that’s the sacrifice we make to improve our overall circumstance. In this case, sacrifice and strategy outfoxed physics.
