Opportunity in Odd Places

Dick Vermeil is an NFL Hall of Fame Football Coach who spent time coaching the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Rams.  I find his career very interesting in the fact that he signed two unique players:  Vince Papale to the Eagles and Kurt Warner to the St. Louis Rams.

I won’t go into all the specifics but the reason these two players on these two teams stand out to me is because they weren’t typical in their route to an NFL career.  Vermeil discovered Papale playing in some obscure Football League and offered Papale a chance to try out for the Eagles.  Vince Papale never played college football and ended up being the oldest rookie in NFL history at the time (1976) which may still be the record.  Kurt Warner played Quarterback in college for a relatively unknown school and worked at a grocery store stocking shelves after college.  Eventually he ended up playing in the Arena League and in NFL Europe.  Somewhere along the way Vermeil discovered him and offered him a chance to play for the St. Louis Rams.

Forgive me because my facts may not be totally accurate but the stories are unique nonetheless.  Here you have two guys who left college and went into relative obscurity.  They both end up playing in much lesser known Football Organizations and at older ages and somehow Vermeil is able to see through all that and recognize their ability.  This got me asking myself, “When am I overlooking an opportunity because it doesn’t come in an ideal package?”  

Finding talent and opportunities in obscure less than ideal situations has to come with an openness of mindset and a focus on absolutes.  If I am a scout for Major League Baseball and I’m looking for a pitcher that can throw 100 miles per hour, does it matter if they do it in their parents backyard  or they do it playing for LSU?  Well, yes, but the talent is there and sometimes the ability to do something in college doesn’t always translate to the pros.  Sometimes the ability to do something in the backyard does translate to the pros.  It depends on the individual.

Sometimes I catch myself looking down upon my living situation because it’s not ideal.  I’m in my 40’s and still renting.  Our space isn’t that large compared to some of my friend’s and family’s homes.  We can’t make modifications and sometimes the neighbors are loud.  But, I also don’t have any debt to worry about. The space is easy to maintain because it’s small which gives me free time to focus on other things like writing, exercise, and martial arts.  Also, I watch my friends/family deal with annoying neighbors periodically just like me.  At least it’s easy for me to move at the end of a lease.  When I keep my mind open to the opportunity in front me and focus on the absolute benefits of low financial stress that allows for creativity in my craft of writing then I’m able to see the value of where I am in life even though it’s not where many of my peers are.

This is something that seems to go beyond gratitude for me.  It is the ability to see benefits in situations where others may only see negatives.  Maybe it was the intensity of the competition in the NFL but it seems like Coach Vermeil was innovative in his ability to discover both talent and character.  I think we could all get some value out of looking at our own lives in a similar way.