Redemption

Anyone who has read this blog over the years knows that every now and again I stray from strictly talking about football. While I enjoy writing about the Tigers, talking about the challenges of real life provides a catharsis to me. As each season passes I can’t help but draw parallels between the two.

This season has been an up and down affair, permanently marked by the hurricanes which have caused havoc in our lives and in the LSU program. Nothing has been normal, in our daily lives or on the field for the Tigers. After winning a wild game in the desert, LSU comes home and blows a 21 point lead in losing to Tennessee. While the Tigers will never get that game back, this weekend’s hard fought win gives LSU a satisfying form of redemption.

Redemption is one of the mysteries and joys of life and football. Who hasn’t made an error in their own life and looked for the opportunity to redeem themselves? Everyday we are given the opportunity to correct past mistakes. We can be better than we were the day before. We can become wiser, more disciplined and more dedicated to doing things the right way each day. As with LSU’s loss to the Volunteers, we can never undo the past. But we can atone for our shortcomings, and thus ultimately triumph over past mistakes that follow us like a dark cloud.

One of the beauties of football is the constant opportunities for redemption. Every new play gives each player an opportunity to make up for a missed tackle, a dropped pass or a block in the back that just cost his team a touchdown. On a larger scale, each game gives a team the opportunity to redeem itself for a past poor performance.

LSU did just that this weekend, overcoming 11 penalties and 5 turnovers against the Gators. These players believe in themselves and thus believe in the idea of redemption. How often do we see players hang their heads as the momentum of a game shifts away to the opposite sideline? As opposed to believing that the next play may hold redemption, they have resigned themselves to the finality of past errors. As if past mistakes, blown coverages, fumbles and holding penalties have created a final judgment on the outcome of the contest.

The 2005 Tigers may be plagued by penalties and turnovers, but their belief in each other, the coaches and the idea of redemption have delivered a 4-1 record and a clearer path to Atlanta.