Just Win, Baby!

I feel an overwhelming compulsion to share some thoughts on the passing of the owner of my beloved Raiders, not because we were close personal friends, but because of what he represents.

I am now ashamed to admit that I have, in recent years, thoughtlessly and crassly joked about his passing being necessary for the improvement of the team.  But I now realize that underlying the jokes was the tacit knowledge that he would never truly die.  While I couldn't always articulate why, I've always known that Al Davis was a force in the NFL and the driving force at the heart and soul of the Raiders organization.  But now, confronted with the reality of his mortality, we have the opportunity to examine and reflect upon the nature of that force and what it means.

As fans, we grumble and complain when the team is suffering. We second-guess decisions to fire coaches, trade players, etc.  We get caught up in the myopia of this season, this week's game, the decision to go for it on 4th down instead of taking the easy 3.  And yes, we can get heartless, shamefully so, in our appraisals of coaches and owners--even joking that the owner is senile and that his demise might be advantageous to the team!

Thankfully, life provides us opportunities to realize how foolish such notions are in the larger scheme, to reflect, to repent and, in the case of Mr. Davis, to realize that he is the Team!

And now, I find myself holding back tears for the passing of a man I have never met, but whose life and work has brought me so much joy, happiness, frustration, anguish, delight, satisfaction, and, most importantly, inspiration.

It is significant, I think, that in the midst of an era of rank mediocrity and incompetence among our leaders, from the local scene to the national--when we are being told to define our standards down to a "new normal" of "No, we can't"-- that we suddenly are confronted with the passing and the attendant reflection upon lives that stand in stark contrast to what we're being sold.

Steve Jobs' passing and the sudden realizations of what he accomplished starting out in his garage and the impact he's had on all of us has been sobering.

Likewise, if we examine the accomplishments of Al Davis over the course of his life, while not so universal as Mr. Jobs', they are jaw-dropping!  And they have been driven by his adherence to two simple phrases:  "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just win, Baby!"

Mr. Davis developed, over the course of his life, certain reputations--renegade, rebel, scoundrel, stubborn.  But there is always a reality beneath the surface or the reputation.  And it usually reveals itself to some degree with death.  Suddenly, it becomes clear why nine players chose him to present them at the Hall of Fame; why so many, even years after the termination of their Raider careers still call him "Mr. Davis;" why fellow owners in the league and former players are reduced to tears today as they speak of him.  He was a loyal friend, a compassionate and caring mentor and coach, a devoted husband and a man who had the vision to see potential in men who were otherwise rejected and cast aside.  He was a man who believed in second chances and redemption and would risk his reputation to extend those chances to players in need to help them achieve excellence and "just win."

In this regard, Mr. Davis is very much like one of the key mentors in my own life and in my law enforcement career.  He was able to see in me things I didn't see myself.  He believed in me and gave me opportunity to strive for excellence in my field.  His vision, generosity and loyalty stand even brighter in contrast to his small, vindictive successor. 

Now, as I mentioned, Al Davis (and, of course, Steve Jobs) has closed the story of his life, but in the span of that life he has established a presence, a force that will endure.  His influence continues to reverberate throughout our culture, whether recognized or not.

And we can take from his life, his story and example some salient truths.  It is the individual, committed to achieving his personal best--to the pursuit of the ideals that drive his passion and fervor--that makes a mark on history, society and culture for generations to come.  It is the individual driven to achieve excellence and to win, who makes the small, daily decisions and amasses a stockpile of small, daily actions--those that seem inconsequential on their face--that serve to change the world we live in.  It is the individual, with uncompromising commitment to lofty ideals that moves our world.

Never, ... NEVER do we hear in the stories of greatness that inspiration was gained from watching a lot of TV or from a government program, or even from a quiet determination to never make waves and to go along with the crowd, current fads or fashions or the demands of political correctness.  Greatness comes from adherence to high principles and a determination to subordinate all other concerns to those principles and ideals and an unwavering pursuit of individual excellence.  Interestingly, such stories of greatness always include a broad sphere of blessed lives surrounding the "hero."

Never are these great figures great because government compelled their compassion, nor drove their vision.  In fact, as I've alluded to earlier, their greatness stands out in blindingly stark contrast to the march toward mediocrity our nation is experiencing as the colossally ignorant call the cadence!

It has been truly said that history is merely the biography of great men [and women].  The life ... the lives and accomplishments of Al Davis and Steve Jobs certainly bear this out.