It was the weekend of "The Game" again. The century plus long football rivalry between Ohio State and the University of Michigan was played out with guts, grit, and disagreements. There is always disappointment and often contention. This year "The Game" featured a nail biting double overtime. Not only was this the first overtime game in the history of the rivalry but Michigan forced a double overtime true to the highly competitive history of these annual meetings. I think anybody who watched these two teams play sensed the energy and pressure on the field and got caught up in it. It was a good game. It was so good that many got caught up in the emotion that boiled over after "The Game" finally came to an improbable end or what others might say, an unfair end because of a disputed call by the officials.
I have no problem with the disagreement of those on the Michigan side that about that call. I understand their emotion. Michigan played to win the whole game. In many ways they out played Ohio State. To its credit, the Ohio State team never gave up and tied up the game in regular time in a stunning if not struggling fashion. In overtime, Michigan went toe to toe with Ohio State and nearly denied them the needed yardage to keep the winning touchdown drive alive. If it just weren't for the disputed call. I really understand.
What I don't understand is the post game behavior of coach Jim Harbaugh. I think he got caught up in the emotion of "The Game." He made it personal. He failed to lead. That is tough language I know. We all make mistakes. Yep, I've made them too. This isn't irredeemable but I think a coach needs to be a coach to his players all the time, especially in the situation of hard loss. Life is tough. "The Game" is still only a game. Leadership lasts for a lifetime in bigger things. So, I think the Big Ten Conference was right to punish Michigan for the coach's behavior. But wouldn't the lesson had been better learned by the players on both sides if the coach would have led this team through the defeat rather than rail about it?
Michigan's coach, Jim Harbaugh, had every right to challenge the call at the time. It was reviewed by the officials, and they decided to stand by the original call. That hurt. It kept the Buckeyes' drive alive and they got the winning touchdown. I don't blame coach Harbaugh for stating at the end of the game that he disagreed with the officials. It happens. Officials aren't perfect, they are human too. It is the coach's job to defend his players and be sure they get a fair shake. It's the officials' job to enforce the rules. In the end their ruling counts. If not, the game can't be played, it can't be enjoyed, and the lessons it is supposed to teach can't be learned. But here is where coach Harbaugh failed when he said he was bitter about the loss. He didn't remember that there is a lot to be learned in accepting a loss even what appears to be an unjust one. Life is like that. It isn't fair.
Leaders lead when it's tough, when it's unfair, when it seems that life is stacked against you, etc. Leadership doesn't devolve into bitterness and complaint about the rules. Coach Harbaugh's example is another poor example of the behavior being exhibited in our society and on our college campuses. We think winning is all that matters. If we don't win, we think the rules aren't fair. We complain or worse. Sports, like other aspects of education, should prepare students to "play by the rules" in the bigger venues of life. Sometimes when you do, you don't win. Failure is more often the result in real life. Those failures, graciously accepted and learned from, build a character of integrity that ultimately prepares you for success. This is why Christian morality (Biblically informed morals) is so important to life (Romans 13:1,2; I Peter 2:13-20; I Peter 3:8-17). And of course, such suffering leads us to depend on God and not ourselves (I Peter 2:21-25)
You would think a coach had learned that. I think coach Harbaugh has learned it. He just forgot for a moment. He can still lead and do the right thing by his players. So can we.
