Hope and Perseverence

Sunday the Ravens face the Texans for their fourth postseason in four years. Pretty good.

What's funny to me about the playoffs, though, is that only one team will take the Lombardi, and the millions of fans of other teams will go away empty-handed, with the words, "Next year is the year..." on their lips.

But the odds are long on that. If the championships were distributed evenly, each team would win once every thirty-two years. But they aren't evenly distributed, of course. There are rich teams and poor teams, dynasties and outstanding coaches, quarterbacks, or team chemistry. Pity the poor Lions fans - after years of crap, they finally got into the playoffs this year. Of course they're out now.

What kind of hope, what kind of loyalty, what kind of perseverance does it take to be the fan of a team like the Lions?

Monday we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement he came to stand for. Obviously there are some major differences between the continuing struggle against injustice, and football. Obviously.

But the rhythm of the two may have something in common. I heard recently that in a three-hour football broadcast, within the one hour of game time, there is  about 11 minutes of actual movement and play.This probably explains the appeal of red-zone only cable channels.

In the same way, the struggle for justice comes in fits and starts, with a lot of time spent lining up, letting the clock run down, or waiting for the refs to review a call. Only once or twice in a game is there a spectacular throw down the field or a game-clinching interception. And sometimes, the struggle is a little like rooting for the Lions - you occasionally have to wait through a lot of bad seasons before a really good one comes along. The struggle for justice takes hope and perseverance.

I realize there are a lot of differences between the gridiron and "I Have a Dream." But I'll close with the most important one: a win for greater equality is not a loss for all the other teams. When the trophy is a fairer society, everyone's life improves.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. put it: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."