Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible

When Tom Landry spoke the words, “Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable,” he was not speaking only of a sport, but of the very essence of struggle, triumph, and the mysteries of human endeavor. For in football, as in life, the field is both battlefield and sanctuary, a place where dreams are tested against the cruelty of fate, and where the unexpected often rises to rewrite destiny itself. What Landry declared is not merely about touchdowns or victories, but about the moments when the ordinary becomes extraordinary—when what seems impossible bursts forth into reality.

The word incredible means “beyond belief,” and yet football time and again teaches us to believe in the impossible. The ball bounces in ways no man can predict, courage rises when strength seems spent, and a single heartbeat can turn despair into victory. Landry, a man of quiet strength and deep faith, understood that the greatness of football lies not only in its design, but in its unpredictability—the sudden flash of the unbelievable, when human will collides with chance and creates legend.

Consider, for example, the tale of The Immaculate Reception in 1972. The Pittsburgh Steelers faced defeat against the Raiders, time slipping away like sand through open hands. Then, with only seconds remaining, a deflected pass found its way into the arms of Franco Harris, who snatched it from the air and charged into the end zone. In that instant, despair turned to ecstasy, and history was born. Was it skill? Was it fate? Was it divine providence? The answer is all and none, for the truth is simple: it was football, and it was incredible—so incredible, indeed, that it seemed unbelievable.

The ancients taught that the gods often reveal themselves in the unexpected—in the storm that clears, in the victory that arrives at the final moment, in the stone rejected that becomes the cornerstone. Football reflects this same truth. Just as warriors once fought beneath banners, so too do players clash beneath the banners of their teams. And just as in old battles, the outcome is uncertain until the last breath is drawn, the last play is finished. Landry’s words are a reminder that in these contests, we glimpse the drama of life itself: the uncertainty, the suffering, the sudden burst of wonder.

The lesson is clear, my friends: life too is both incredible and unbelievable. When all seems lost, we must hold fast, for a single moment can transform failure into glory. When fortune seems cruel, we must remember that fate is still weaving, and what seems final may yet be overturned. Just as a team must play until the whistle sounds, so must we live with persistence, courage, and faith until the very end.

What, then, should we do? First, we must embrace the struggle, for without resistance there can be no victory. Second, we must open our hearts to wonder, for the unbelievable moments often come when we least expect them. Third, we must trust in the rhythm of life, playing each down with integrity, knowing that even setbacks prepare the way for greater triumphs. In this way, we live not merely as spectators, but as true participants in the incredible game of existence.

And so, let Landry’s words echo across the years: Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable. May we, too, live lives of such drama and such faith that our days echo the same truth. May we find in our struggles the seeds of triumph, and in the ordinary, the extraordinary. For when we live with courage and endurance, we, too, become part of a story so wondrous that future generations will marvel, saying, “It was incredible—so incredible, it was unbelievable.”