But there are no reasons that are adequate for having lost. For the loser there must be one hundred percent determination and dedication to win next time.

Vince Lombardi

Former coach of the

Green Bay Packers

Football is a tough game. So is life. And no sport demands teamwork -- required often to achieve success in the real world -- more than does football.

Some challenges of this great game apply to everyday living; others hold special relevance for major endeavors.

Coach Lombardi underscored this when he wrote, “One play can win a football game. One game can make a season and one player, any player, can make the difference between winning and losing.

“No one knows when the big play is coming up; therefore, every player must go all out on every play ... every player has a responsibility on every play, and that responsibility begins with the proper use of his talents.”

Regardless of what field we may be in, success requires “a personal commitment to excellence and to victory.”

Yet sometimes, even when we pay that price, circumstances beyond our control create obstacles that can’t be overcome.

A recent -- and glaring -- example was noted by Seattle Seahawks’ head coach Mike Holmgren the day after Super Bowl XL: “I knew we had our hand full with the Steelers. I didn’t know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well.”

Granted, the Seahawks did have opportunities, both offensive and defensive, to win this game despite the officiating.

Yet several bad calls at critical times were made against the Seahawks; none against the Steelers. And this affected the flow and momentum and very likely the outcome of the game.

Whether the result of bias or incompetence, or both, it was a travesty. Officials in such a big game should let the players play and decide the game on the field.

But whining that our Seahawks lost because the officiating wasn’t “fair” accomplishes nothing; neither does complaining when life isn’t “fair” to us.

A friend of mine completed an alcohol recovery program two decades ago. (He has remained, I am happy to report, sober ever since.)

While there, a psychologist asked his group for their definition of “fair.” After rejecting several answers, the psychologist exclaimed:

“People, people, people! You will make no progress until you realize the only definition of “fair” is that the fair is where you go to go to the carnival to ride the rides!”

He told it like it is.

There is no guarantee in football or in life that the game will be fair. Yet on the playing field and beyond, regardless of whether the outcome was fair, those who lose must have “one hundred percent determination and dedication to win next time.”

As the Seahawks look beyond their disappointment -- and their achievement in winning the National Conference title -- they need to remember these words from Coach Lombardi:

“We have all watched people and teams achieve success -- a promotion or a championship -- and then not be able to repeat the next year.

“Winning the first time is a lot easier than repeating as champions. To succeed again requires dedication, perseverance and, above all, discipline and mental toughness.

“Truly, I have never known a really successful man who deep in his heart did not understand the grind, the discipline that it takes to win.”

His words apply to the rest of us, too, if when we succeed, whatever our chosen endeavor, we expect to build on that success.

Beyond football, professional challenges and our personal lives, these lessons apply to the game of politics.

I made this point when speaking to a local Republican organization last summer.

Republicans throughout Washington, especially in King County, need to work together as a team and pay the price to win.

Only when they do this will they achieve real political success. Until then, this county and state will remain far to blue -- and not a Seahawk blue!

Ralph Nichols’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Robinson Newspapers. He can be reached at newsdesk@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1857.