Dan Campbell is the head coach of the Detroit Lions, and the Lions are one of the last 4 teams in contention to head to the Superbowl. As of this writing, the game hasn't started yet today, but here is why I am pulling for the Lions to win the Superbowl this year. Dan Campbell is all about Grit. He wears a GRIT hat (not ours but maybe one day, ha!), he talks about it to the team, he believes that it represents the grit of the people of Detroit, and as a former player he knows what it takes to keep going when things get hard.
There is a video segment here of the Pat McAfee show (former punter for the Colts) where he talks about Dan Campbell's use of the word Grit. Additionally, Pat shares his his own experience with the word Grit and how at one point in his career as a Colt, they had a 'Grit Chip' that you had to have on your person at all times. It became part of the DNA of the team and something that had meaning to each of the players in the locker room. We know this from experience in business, sports, and our camp, but when each person dedicates themself to having grit, it unlocks another level of connection and performance for whatever it is you are working toward.
Hopefully the Lions can advance to the Superbowl today to further the message of GRIT to the rest of the world. Fun side note: another reason I'm pulling for the Lions is that the Quarterback coach for Jared Goff is former Jaguar and Jacksonville resident Mark Brunell. His wife Stacy was my son's track coach for a few years and she also was a guest speaker at camp and spoke to the kids about the importance of Grit. You can see here speech here and go to 3:16 to hear her talk. So we know that family embodies Grit as well!
