Rebuilding Rob

Following last week’s controversial overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys by the Detroit Lions, these billboards have popped up all over metro Detroit:

For those who don’t know, this is a reference to a two-point conversion scored in overtime by the Lions that was ultimately called back by referees. The referees ruled that Taylor Decker, the Lions offensive lineman who scored what should have been the game-winning play, was an ineligible player; claiming that he did not check into the game with the referees before coming into the play in question.

The board’s Honolulu blue and silver colors are a reference to the Detroit Lions team colors. On the second board, the team’s official NFL record of 11-5, has been scratched out, and appears to be handwritten as 11-4 – what their record would be if the two-point conversion had not been reversed

Thanks to the same replay technology that is used to reverse questionable penalties during the game, namely TV cameras – fans watching around the country could see that Decker clearly checked in with referees before taking the field for the two-point conversion play. But I’m not bitter or anything 😝

“Risk is our business”

Captain James T Kirk

It hadn’t occurred to me until I was about half-way through this post how appropriate the Taylor Decker billboards are, in reference to today’s prompt. One of the criticisms that Lions head coach Dan Campbell gets is that he is too much of a risk-taker. He will have the Lions execute risky plays in the hopes of attaining a big payoff.

For instance when the Lions are on a fourth down I need only a few yards to convert to a first down; whereas other teams their situation would punt the ball, Campbell often chooses to go for the first down. In fact, the very play that part of the billboards, I mentioned above, the Lions had scored a touchdown, and were attempting to complete a two point conversion, which would have won the game for them. Other, more practical coaches would have simply gone for the extra point and continued the game in overtime.

Campbell was playing for the win. He was being bold. I’ve never heard him say it publicly; but I can only assume that, like me, he believes in the Virgil quote “fortune favors the bold” In fact, if I was able to create my own billboard, it would include the quote.

Obviously, is a very old saying, but it is something of a personal mantra to me. So much so in fact, that if I were to get a tattoo, this is probably one of the first things I would get inked onto my body. I believe very much in the idea that good things happen to people who take chances in life. In the right circumstances, Virgil is right: fortune really does favor the bold.

However, as we see with the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell, being bold doesn’t always pay off. Sometimes, it can backfire as it did for the Lions this past Sunday. But when it works, the risk takers are seen as bold and aggressive. Personally, I like to take chances because it catches the other guy unprepared. The element of surprise leaves them scratching their head asking “wait, is he really doing this?“ Sometimes the element of surprise alone is enough to make things happen.

One interesting post script: the officiating crew from last week’s Lions loss has been downgraded, as part of the NFL’s referee evaluation process. This means that most of the referees from Sunday’s game will not be allowed to officiate in any of this years NFL postseason games .

Today marks the third anniversary of one of the darkest days in my country’s recent history. Check out my thoughts on the attempted January 6th insurrection.

If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say? Do you agree with the idea that fortune favors the bold? Are you a risk-taker?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:

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• The Extra Day: A Ten-Year Memory
• Of Training Wheels and Christmas Lights
• Charity Starts at Home (And I’m Back in My Childhood One)
• The Muscle of Empathy

The article “Billboards That Favor the Bold” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob