There was more than a little irony in the fact that the heartbroken Packers fans living along the path around the Falls saw the first morning light of the rest of their lives on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
While it may be irreverent to compare the significance of the final score of Sunday’s game with the Seahawks and the passion and movement of that great civil rights leader, there are parallels that apply to these two events and life in general.
The most famous lines of King’s most famous speech began, ”I have a dream…” The phrase was used more than once and referenced his vision for a nation in which people were treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race. It was a powerful message that moved the nation forward toward that dream. Even today, a bit more than 50 years since the speech was delivered, that dream has not become a reality.
The Packers came into Sunday’s game as underdogs but appeared to have an insurmountable 16-0 lead at halftime. It was as if the dream of returning to the Super Bowl was easily within their grasp. Packers fans had a dream. It was so close, yet, it, too, slipped away. Four minutes from the end of regulation and one possession in overtime, and it did not become a reality.
Neither dream has become reality, but that should not prevent people from dreaming. On a Monday like we had at the start of this week, it is very easy for dreamers to become discouraged and depressed. Society needs people with big dreams. We need students who have big dreams.
Those who reflect on Sunday’s competition can console themselves by commenting, “It was only football game,” and minimize the meaning of the result. In a time of many disappointments, it gave hope to fans across the nation and around the world.
Some might also minimize King’s dream with comments about the amount of initiative that the downtrodden use to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Unfortunately, the gap between members of society seems to have widened in the past few years. Efforts to raise the minimum wage, make health care easily available, support child care and many other social programs seem to have taken a lower profile on the agenda of decision makers.
There seems to be no movement to reduce the prominence of the middle class. That was not one of the dreams King was concerned about; his dreams were formulated in a different time. If he were to give the same speech today, it might have a slightly different theme, although the main thrust would be the same.
We can dream about the Packers. Heard more than a few times on Monday was the suggestion, “Wait until next year.” That works for a while, but it’s not much consolation.
Dreamers cannot always wait for next year. They need to be persistent and perhaps never wait. With the school district, the approval of the outdoor facilities took a great deal of persistent effort over the long haul. There were defeats, but when those happened, the “wait till next year” comment did not suffice. With some dreams, next year never comes, and the chance has to be taken when it comes.
There will be other seasons and another Super Bowl next year. The journey will start again in a few months. The effort to make King’s dreams a reality does not start over next season. It needs to be a consistent effort. In some respects, it seems like “off season” in the effort to make that dream a reality.
It’s time to pack the green and gold in the drawer or in the closet. For some, the process started on Sunday night. In a number of cases, it was not without a few tears. But after all, it was only a football game. There are more important dreams in life.
Let’s hope we continue to have dreamers who have the courage to play the game until there are check marks in the win column.
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