No athlete in the world was more respected than Beck Campbell. He collected nine Super Bowl wins as a quarterback and was named head coach of his team after the fifth win, making him the first-ever head coach who was also his team’s quarterback. Beck played on the same team his entire career and was admired for his dedication to one city. However, of all of Beck’s accomplishments, none may have been more impressive than his number of comeback victories. In 15 seasons, Beck started 194 games and his team won 130 of them. Of the 130 wins, 91 of them involved his team coming from behind with less than five minutes to go in the game. Nobody understood how this was possible.
When a team or player is so good, the competition often accuses them of cheating. Beck was no exception. No less than 35 websites, some more popular than others, were run by fans trying to prove that Beck Campbell was a cheater. One site (www.becksbigbrain.com) claimed that Beck took illegal brain-enhancing drugs that gave him the ability to read the minds of other players. Another site argued that Beck was a secret billionaire who bribed all the stadium security heads around the league to let him cheat. The craziest theory claimed that Beck was an angel sent by Hashem, and that once Beck won his tenth Super Bowl, Moshiach would come. This theory was questionably supported by quotes from the Torah and gematrias. However, despite all of these efforts, nobody could prove a thing.
It’s not as if Beck Campbell wasn’t asked to explain his success. Other players and coaches would often ask Beck for advice, and he was happy to give it. His mind was full of football knowledge and wisdom, and Beck felt that the more people knew, the better the competition, and the more fun playing would be. Of course, this just added to Beck’s legend. Not only was he the greatest quarterback ever, but he did so even while giving away his secrets to other teams! How could this be if he wasn’t secretly a powerful being sent by Hashem? It seemed that Beck was holding something back, and nobody could figure it out.
Before his 16th year in the league, Beck decided not to return to playing or coaching. This made many people either very happy or very upset. Those most upset weren’t even Beck’s teammates or fans, but the Moshiach theorists. They started protesting outside Beck’s house every day, chanting, “Please don’t retire, bring the Messiah!” or “One more year, and Moshiach will be here!” But despite all this, Beck’s mind was made up. He held a press conference at which he presented the following statement: “Thank you to all my teammates, coaches, fans, and of course family for all the support you have given me over the years. As much as I love football, I believe I can have a greater impact on the community at large. I plan to take all the lessons I have learned as an athlete and create an educational organization dedicated to helping others succeed. Thank you.”
Six weeks later, Beck announced the opening of his new foundation, the Organization for the Development of Excellent Living and an Awesome You! (or ODELAY, for short). This news created a huge buzz, with reporters, fans and coaches doing whatever they could to find out more about Beck’s new initiative. However, the only information Beck would release was the title of his keynote speech; it was called “How to Be a Loser.” This title intrigued people, as Beck was not a person you’d call a loser. What did he know about losing? However, Beck kept a very tight seal on the rest of the info, causing the interest and excitement to build until the first-ever ODELAY conference. On the big day, the main auditorium was packed with people an hour before the start time of 9 a.m. At exactly 8:59, Beck arrived on the stage to a round of applause, as the screen behind him lowered itself into place. At 9:01 he began to speak to a rapt audience. He started with a story.
“As a child, my parents taught me many valuable lessons. One that stands out in my mind is something my father would often tell me before we would start a round of Go Fish, Monopoly, basketball, or whatever. He would tell me, ‘Don’t play a game you aren’t prepared to lose.’ At first glance, this advice seems a bit negative. Should I really be focusing on losing before I start? How will that help? So here’s the secret: Those who start things expecting to win are at a disadvantage for three reasons. First, what happens when things start to go south? The game or project or contest isn’t over, but you are starting to feel it slip away. If you are expecting to win, just the possibility of losing might cause you to lose focus, get flustered and never recover. Second, those who prepare to lose know what to do if they find themselve behind. If things don’t go as planned, you need to know beforehand what to do. Yes, some people are blessed with the ability to solve problems as they come up, but most people are not. Finally, those prepared to lose can deal with losing properly. They can ask, ‘What did I do wrong and how can I improve for next time?’ or ‘What does this loss tell me about myself?’ But those expecting to win might respond to losing with anger and frustration, making it more difficult to succeed the next time. Think about the child who dumps the board or quits before the game is over. Is that child properly prepared to deal with life’s challenges? So, I’d like to invite you all to learn how to be a loser with me. I hope you enjoy the journey.”
In this week’s parsha, Moshe does not seem to have any concerns with sending the spies into Eretz Canaan. In fact, when they return, the spies don’t report back to Moshe, they just announce everything to all of Bnei Yisrael. If Moshe had concerns, he should have asked the men to tell him what they saw so that he could deliver the report properly. Of course, everything goes downhill from there, and what is Moshe’s reaction? “And Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces.” Moshe Rabbeinu was Hashem’s most faithful servant, but perhaps this faith led Moshe to feel so confident that he wasn’t prepared for the mission to fail. Sometimes, expecting to lose is exactly what we need to do. This doesn’t mean confidence is bad, rather that we must be ready to deal with failure. May Hashem give us the strength to deal with life’s challenges properly and to use those challenges as a way to grow.
By Yair Daar
