Rivalries Can Actually Be Healthy

This is Super Bowl week, culminating with Super Sunday. The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks should be a classic matchup.

Old school football fans remember when these two teams used to face each other regularly as part of the old AFC West before Seattle moved to the NFC. It was a bit of a rivalry, including all star players such as John Elway, Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy, among others.

Rivalries can get heated, especially for the super competitive folks. However, they extend beyond sports, and can actually be good for overall competition, fan bases, and obviously business.

SPORTS:

Two of the best rivalries in all of sports are the New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox in baseball and the North Carolina Tarheels/Duke Blue Devils in college basketball. Both of these rivalries are intense, have lots of history, and the games often have championship implications. The same can be said for Auburn/Alabama and Ohio State/Michigan in college football, The New York Knicks/Boston Celtics in the NBA, and many others. You live for the days when these types of teams play each other.  Often houses, and even families,  are temporarily divided depending upon the magnitude of the games and fan bases. 

BUSINESS

There are also rivals in the business world.  Some notable ones are Google/Apple, Xbox/Playstation, Ford/Chevrolet, Nike/Reebok, and McDonalds/Burger King. It can get intense in these respective boardrooms as the executives and marketing teams want to stay ahead of their counterparts.  Like any other rivalry, it's almost natural to pick a side.

ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITIES

There will always be certain yings and yangs in this realm. It became extreme and fatal in the 90s with Tupac and Biggie. Some rivalries that have been lesss fatal include Beyoncé/Rihanna, Michael Jackson/Prince, Adam Sandler/Ben Stiller, AC/DC/Metallica, Jay-Z/Nas, and even networks such as CBS/NBC/ABC, MSNBC/FOX news, and soap operas such as The Young and The Restless/All My Children. 

Paraphrasing a line from the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby", having a good competitor can make you better. Katie Couric needs Diane Sawyer, the Today Show needs The Early Show, The View needs The Talk, American Idol needs The Voice. George Lucas needs Peter Jackson. LeBron James needs Kobe Bryant. Jimmie Johnson needs Matt Kenseth. The Beatles needed The Rolling Stones. The list goes on and on.

A friendly rivalry is usually fun and not hate filled. You want to be on your game and do your best. This rival can often be your greatest motivator. You compare each other constantly, always striving to do better.

So as you tune into the Super Bowl this weekend, remember that the game imitates life in many ways. We all want to be on the biggest stage of our careers or passions, and it always feels better to win.

Gabby, Barack, and Tebow: will people leave them alone already?

The 2012 Olympics in London, England are ending tonight. In a few weeks, the 2012 NFL season opens. Also, we have a presidential election in 2012, where President Barack Obama is vying against Republican Mitt Romney to become only the second Democrat since FDR to win back to back terms.

These 2012 Olympics have had several heroes and great storylines. Obviously one of the biggest stories was 16 year old gymnast Gabby Douglas.  She won three medals in her first Olympics, one of them a team gold with the "Fab Five" gymnastics team that became the first Olympic team to win that event since the Magnificent Seven in the Atlanta 1996 games. She is known worldwide and will return to the USA a multimillionaire and a household name. However, many folks would rather focus on how her hair looked during the events, or on how much debt her mother was in. That doesn't make much sense to me. What does any of that have to do with her abilities, talent and achievements?

President Barack Obama has been undergoing similar criticism since he was first elected four years ago. He is the nation's first Black president, and argubably the most scrutinized politican ever. He hasn't been perfect, as he is admittedly inexperienced. Nevertheless, he is doing an admirable job of cleaning up George W. Bush's eight year mess. He is bringing better healthcare, he helped eliminate Osama Bin Laden, the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home, and the economy is steadily improving. It seems, like Gabby, critics and haters do not want to give Obama the proper credit for what he has actually done. They want to slander him, and say they have yet to see change. There is a world of positive difference between now and 2008 if one looks carefully. Also, everything bad is not his fault either. He is STILL fixing Bush's mistakes, plus Congress makes the laws, and is refuting many bills he proposes. Folks really need to research all sides of an issue before throwing stones.

NFL quarterback Tim Tebow was the league's biggest story last year with the influence he had on the Denver Broncos, the Christian community, and the nation. He coined the term and the meme "tebowing" and gave folks lots of hope. Now he will get the opportunity to do this with the New York Jets, in a tough media market. People criticized him heavily as well, citing that he was too religious, overrated, a novelty, and that the defense carried him. Like it or not, Tebow has won at all levels of his sports life. He just puts that enthusiasm in a person to make you want to play with him. He has a strong love for the Lord and the game of football. It seems people would rather break down his flaws though.

This hating and negativity must end. Gabby, Obama and Tebow are human beings first. They are influences and role models. But they will err. However, remember they wouldn't be where they are without hard work, determination, and fortitude. There was only one perfect person to ever live, and he was crucified. These extraordinary but imperfect human beings shouldn't be crucified as well. One should not put down folks and make false accusations and rumors just because they don't like that person, or because you want to be that person. Instead, ignore these types of folks, and vote for someone you want to see in office. People were fed up with Bush, so they have given Obama a try. Also, look deep within yourself, realize you are not perfect either, and nurture what you are good at. We are all talented at something, and should strive to be the Gabby, Tebow or Barack at that talent.

We are one nation, one family. The patriotism shouldn't end now that the Olympics have. We need to support each other, love each other, and back each other. Negativity is in overabundance, so let's search for more positivity.

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