The Legend of Staubach

Roger Staubach was one of my heroes growing up, and I must admit he still is. Staubach still maintains a mythical status at the U. S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1965.

One of the legends goes like this:

Staubach was a plebe in his first summer at the U.S. Naval Academy. Like all plebes, he was expected to be unobtrusive in the presence of upperclassmen. At breakfast one Sunday, however, an upperclassman began prodding Roger. He was backup quarterback on the football team, and was well aware that soon Roger would be in competition with him. “Hey, Staubach!” he barked. “I hear you’re going to take my job away. Is that right?”

“No, sir,” replied Roger.

The upperclassman pressed the issue. “That’s strange,” he said. “I’m sure that’s what I heard.”

“What is your job, sir?” asked Roger.

“Number two quarterback,” the upperclassman announced.

“I’m not going to take your job away, sir,” Roger assured him.

The upperclassman seemed satisfied until Roger added, “It’s the starting-quarterback job that I’m going to take, sir.”

Of course, Staubach won the starting job as a sophomore and went on to win the Heisman trophy.

The World’s Fastest Snail

You are looking at a photo of Sidney. (Incidentally, this is how I look when I get up in the morning, but that is a different story.) On July 17, Sidney became a world champion. He raced 13 inches in 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Fast enough to make him the world’s fastest snail. 

Unfortunately, Sidney did not even approach the world record of two minutes. This magnificent feat was accomplished by a snail named Archie in 1995. No one noted if Sidney was crestfallen, when he discovered how much faster Archie traveled.

Ever feel like your life is traveling at a snail’s pace? Do you feel frustrated by how slowly you are accomplishing your goals?

The older I get the more I am convinced there are no big accomplishments. Those things we call big accomplishments are really an accumulation of a lot of small accomplishments.

I have always liked Psalm 118:24, ”This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” One facet of that enjoyment is appreciating the little things I can do to accomplish my goals (hopefully all of which God inspired and are blessings to God.)

“Successful” moments are just that—moments. If we cannot enjoy the journey, they may not be worth the pursuit.