2002 Speeches
Football and Life Lessons: Remarks at the Singapore American School
Franklin L. Lavin - U.S. Ambassador to Singapore
September 18, 2002
I would especially like to thank Rod Jahner who organized this year’s opening ceremony so that I did not have to throw a football. When my wife asked me last year how my pass went, I told her that I throw a football about as well as I throw a toaster. So anytime I can avoid that, the better.
Today, I have a theory I want to share with you. We all know that there are a lot of rules of thumb in football. My theory is that some of these rules might - just might - be applicable in situations outside of football. I jotted down 14 such rules and maybe we can think for a minute whether these are helpful during football, or whether they have a broader applicability as well.
1. The more you plan and prepare for your goals, the better.
2. Others might be planning and preparing ways to stop you from reaching your goals.
3. You can take a hard hit and keep going.
4. You can come back from a bad fall, a bad play, and even a bad game.
5. If you help others, they notice it and appreciate it.
6. If you let others down, they also notice it, and they will frequently communicate their feelings to you.
7. Playing by the rules makes for a better game.
8. The kids on the other team aren’t bad kids. They are just the people who you need to beat today.
9. Performing at your best in one part of your life, does not make you perform worse in another part of your life. Good performance on the field is not an excuse for bad performance off the field.
10. Everybody on the team has a different set of skills. A good teammate helps bring out the best in everybody on that team.
11. A friend helps someone who had a bad day still feel good about the game and about themself.
12. Adults aren’t always right, but there are different ways and different times to point this out.
13. If you take yourself seriously, if you take your responsibilities seriously, adults will start to take you seriously.
14. Some kids are going to have better plays than others and some will get more applause than others. But every kid out here today is a winner, and every kid out here today deserves our applause and our support. Because they are out here trying their best. Because they are willing to step away from the Internet and the television and the video games. Because they are our kids and we love them.