The Score Takes Care of Itself

The match between Don Shula's Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers, led by the author of this book, Bill Walsh, has just been played at the Orange Ball stadium in Miami, The home team achieved a magnificent victory, while Walsh's boys, tired from yet another defeat, return home with their tails between their legs. Their coach was mentally worn out. The season is turning out to be a disaster for the 49ers, and Bill Walsh feels his career has come to a standstill. Things are so bad that on the flight back to San Francisco, Walsh starts to cry, trying to hide himself from the players. He feels as though he has lost everything and destroyed years of his career and hard work. Yet, during that six-hour flight, Walsh realised that only by facing that disappointment head on would he be able to find the strength to continue fighting for his team and to believe in it. Once he dried his tears, the coach was able to seize a new sense of clarity, and to understand that he had a duty: as the leader of the group, he had only ever had to focus on the next match which, that time around, was to be against the New York Giants.

After all, there is little time between matches to dwell and indulge in self-pity and recrimination. Players and coaches need to keep pushing. With this in mind, Walsh decided to end his flight with a very different attitude from the defeatism he had experienced post take-off. What dawned on him during this emotional journey was that failure is an important part of success. It is impossible to think about winning without first experiencing defeat and disappointment, and this is a normal, inevitable process, which we just have to accept. The key is knowing how to get back up when you get knocked down, and finding the mental strength and courage to move forward. This is exactly what Walsh tries to convey to his team after their defeat against the Miami Dolphins; he succeeds perfectly, and the following Saturday, his boys beat the New York Giants 12-0.