Dear Coach Carroll,
Why is it that many like me are fans of the Seahawks? I really don’t know about the others but for sure I know why I am! So I thought I should let you know. The main reason I think is important for me to let you know is because we are now going through a very difficult time in the life of our nation. One reason for which it is a difficult time is because there is a lot of confusion and resentment. I think you have a lot in your hands so I will not ask you to do anything else of what you are already doing. Keep up with the good work you are doing, leading the team and in some ways leading us in the understanding of what is going on. Leading us by continuing playing the game with all your energy and most important playing the game with joy.
This is how I see it. Life is kind of a game, there are winners, and some times there are injuries. In life some times there is even tragedy and suffering, but at the end life goes on. Life is in a continuous process of change and it is only with some sense of humor that we can survive. For sure I don’t like it when we lose a game, but I know you all did the best you could until the very end of the game. Many times after it looks like all is lost, you all manage to turn things around and win, then is when many of us say that we see the best of you. I have seen how in the mist of what appears to be a definite defeat you all are able to enjoy the game (I see you faces showing that you are not in despair) and sometimes turn it around with a win. Some time you do crazy things and some times you play it safe. It is when you don’t play it safe that you are at your best. Taking chances, risking, and doing unexpected passes and moves is what keeps me (and I think many of us) glued to your team.
When in an interview some one asked you about a move that injured one of your players implying you were taking risks, you answered showing empathy for your man but also asking what is the purpose of the game? (In terms of doing things different and creatively.) What I got from that interview and answer is that if you are not going to “play” why are you in the game? For me this has a deep meaning and it is a lesson for life.
As I stated at the beginning I think that life is sort of a game. I’m a teaching professor, my role is not that of providing information, it is a bit like a coach. Even though my subjects are in science, chemistry and environmental, there are plentiful of opportunities to talk about living. Living and learning. Thinking about my relationship with my students I have to see how others relate and how you relate and are part of your team.
Finally let me tell you that over the many years I have been a professor there is one important lesson I have learned. It is: “If you are not having fun, you are not learning!” I tell this to my students over and over again, they have to see that even in the most difficult algebraic problem solving stoichiometry they have to enjoy what they are doing. There is no way they can learn and have a good life in they are not enjoying it. I know is kind of a paradox to be joyful even in time of distress, but I know is necessary for a good life. That is the lesson I want to get when watching the Hawks play! I want to see you enjoying the game always!
I mean always!
Wishing you the best for this 2017.
David J Terrell 