The sight of Tom Brady writhing on the ground clutching his knee made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. It was only seven minutes into the first quarter of the season . how could this happen? My mind began racing, wondering how Matt Cassel would fare when plunged into starting his first career NFL game. Certainly, our run to the Super Bowl was over in my mind, and I even wondered if we would be able to pull off a winning season. Luckily, the team played well and the Patriots got out with a win.
As I sat there thinking, I realized that this may not be the end of the world. Even though Cassel hasn’t started a game at quarterback since high school, he did back up two Heisman Trophy winners in Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer, and one has to assume that if Bill Belichick has kept him on the roster for the past four years he must be talented.
It led me to thinking, though, that there are so many more important things to worry about than who is going to be the starting quarterback for the Patriots. Hurricane season has brought two fairly devastating storms to the Gulf Coast and has displaced thousands of families who must now rebuild their homes. There is a presidential campaign going on that will be remembered for ages, and will change the course of American politics for the next four years.
So next Sunday, keep in mind, if your star player lays in pain on the field, that there are many more things that could have gone wrong in your life. Try to keep it in perspective, and hopefully everything will work out for the best.