Houston after the dance.
Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
Every so often I say something that seems to hint at what the future holds. I don’t think this is because I’m a gifted seer, but if you offer enough advice, well, something is bound to materialize.
For me, fishing is much the same. I’m not especially skilled, but I enjoy it. And by casting a line hundreds of times I eventually make contact with a fish or annoy one enough to take a bite at my lure.
But I digress.
About a month ago I wrote here that when athletes make a good play on the field and go into a happy dance they are being silly and prideful. And it can be dangerous.
One of the Chicago Bears learned this past Sunday that pride truly can lead to disaster. He is Lamarr Houston, a defensive end, who has a nice contract to play five years for the Bears and receive $35 million in pay. Sadly, he’ll make a few million less now, but likely won’t need a benefit raffle to make ends meet.
The Bears had a rather bad day Sunday in their game against the New England Patriots. With just three minutes to go, they trailed by 25 points. Although one of the top talents, Houston was still on the field, while New England was playing second and third stringers.
New England had the ball and their second-string quarterback ran a play that didn’t go so well; Houston sacked him for a loss (rather meaningless at that point). But, you guessed it; Houston went into a celebratory happy dance, leaped around a bit, came down “funny”, wrecked his knee and is out for the season. He’ll miss half the games this year – and a good chuck of his millions.
Next time – if there is a next time – I’m betting Houston skips the happy dance and helps the sacked quarterback get up, maybe says “excuse me” and saves his dancing for the club scene.
