Greatness Is Hard

GREATNESS IS HARD to maintain, especially in football. Injuries, free agency, and salary-cap issues cause teams to lose key players and eventually fade into mediocrity. In 1999, the Dallas Cowboys discovered their days of Super Bowl glory had passed.

Dallas, a three-time Super Bowl champion in the ’90s, hosted the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Unlike the Cowboys, the Cardinals hadn’t won a postseason contest since defeating the Philadelphia Eagles for the 1947 NFL championship.

As the game unfolded, Arizona played like seasoned veterans, and Dallas looked like newcomers. In the first three minutes, the Cardinals put points on the scoreboard with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer to Adrian Murrell. And just before halftime, the visitors kicked a field goal.

Arizona added to its lead early in the third quarter as Plummer and Larry Centers connected on a touchdown to make it 17–0.

Troy Aikman attempted to pass the Cowboys back into contention, but the quarterback finished the contest with 22 completions in 49 attempts for only 191 yards and 3 interceptions.

Dallas did get on the scoreboard with a late touchdown pass to Billy Davis, but Arizona collected its second playoff win in franchise history with a 20–7 triumph.

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POINT The Cowboys were the team to beat in the 1990s. Every time Dallas took the field, the athletes—and everyone else—knew they could, should, and probably would win.

Then it happened. The Cowboys slowly lost their glory.

The same thing can happen to us. We can start thinking we’re unbeatable and drift away from God. If we aren’t tapped into God through Bible study, prayer, and worship, our spiritual life can lose its vibrancy. We start to miss the excitement we had when we were walking with God every day. That’s when we need to turn back to him.

GOAL! Think about the time you felt strongest in your relationship with God. What were you doing during those “glory days”? Ask God to help you always stay connected to him.