Bolero, Football and Life

As I sit on the beach with very few people in sight, listening to an arrangement of Ravel's Bolero (can life get much better?) my mind wanders to football (bowl time) and life. 

I am neither a student of music nor of football, so please excuse my rudimentary explanations.  If you are unfamiliar with Bolero, think of Bo Derek and Dudley Moore in the movie "10."  That's the music.  Throughout the entire piece the percussion section, drums in particular, keep a constant rhythm going.  This is quite amazing to someone who finds it a stretch to manage five claps in rhythm during "At the Name of Jesus."  As the music progresses, various sections, brass, woodwinds, strings are showcased, and in the particular arrangement to which I am listening, there are solo performances as well.  The music crescendos until one wants to just get up and twirl in circles, but I will certainly refrain so as not to dismay the few people who can see me.

Now, think of a football game.  Certainly, it has been a stellar NCAA bowl season with many games going into multiple overtimes.  The offensive line is like that percussion section in Bolero.  If done well, it is constant and made up of unsung heores.  Their whole purpose is to protect their quarterback.  Without them, as with those drums in Bolero, the whole thing would fall apart. 

I think of the defensive line as the horns in the music.  They play along and then just as the music swells and the horns are featured, someone breaks through the line and the quarterback is sacked.  A good sacking is my favorite play of any football game, well, unless it's my quarterback getting sacked.  I realize at this juncture that my analogy falls apart a bit, but it's just a blog.  I ain't no Pulitzer Prize winner.

The soloists in football are the quarterback, the place kickers, and outstanding running backs.  They stand out.  They make the game more exciting.  But, without their "support cast," there would be no reason.

Life is a close parallel to Bolero and football.  Some of us are offensive linesmen or percussionists.  We are not the ones who, for instance, run the 60 miles.  We are the ones who stand ready with dry shirts, orange juice, bad burgers, and words of encouragement.  Some of us are defensive linesmen or 4th chairs in the woodwinds section.  We do not run the 60 miles but we run 5 or 8 or 17 miles in supposrt.  We help to move the music or the game along.  And, then there are those who do run the 60 miles.  They are the soloists or the quarterbacks.  They bring the excitement.

Unlike Bolero or football teams, life generally offers the opportunity at some point or other to play all the parts...different ones at different times for different people.  It takes us all.  How perfect is that?

So for today, I wish you the steadfastness of a percussionist, satisfaction on the offensive line, accolades for a job well done, and I wish you

blessings