To the Band of Brothers: September 17, 2021
Good morning!
Someone recently shared with me a letter written on September 14, 1976, by Bart Starr to a Green Bay Packer fan. Just in case the decades have erased from memory the name of Bart Starr, he was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he was drafted by legendary coach Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. Starr is the only QB in NFL history to lead a team to three consecutive league championships and he led the Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls. He was the MVP of both games.
By 1976, Bart Starr had retired from playing and was then the head coach of the team. The Packers had a terrible season finishing with a 5-9 record. Packer fans who were so accustomed to winning, began to complain. It seems that a disgruntled fan wrote the former quarterback and then head coach a letter expressing his discontent and telling him he was giving up his season tickets.
This is what Starr wrote back:
Dear Mr. Clumpner, We are sorry to lose you as a fan of course, but what is sadder is the example you are setting for your own sons. I hope, while you are redirecting their young minds in the future, you will include tolerance so that when you occasionally err or unintentionally disappoint them, they will not lose their faith in you. Best wishes, Bart Starr |
Coach Starr’s response is about commitment. When we make decisions, we need to stick to them and not turn the other way when things don’t go as planned. These few lines written by a legendary athlete are applicable to many things in our lives. We make a commitment to marry one person, we make a commitment to have and raise children, we make a commitment to study in a particular school and be part of the community, we make a commitment to a team and teammates, and we make a commitment to God and His Church. We don’t turn away and abandon them simply because at times things don’t go our way.
Don’t get me wrong, I know there are times when we are left with no alternatives, but for the most part we have to stay committed and strong. If this were not the case, I would have abandoned the Miami Dolphins a long time ago and for most of the last 20 years been a (yuck!!) Patriot’s fan. As a matter of fact, what most powerfully expresses your commitment and, ultimately, worth, is when you lose, when the chips are down, when you are upset and even feel betrayed, you remain committed and faithful. Here is the real worth of the man.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.