“If you’re holding the football, you’re going to get tackled.”

I heard this on Dancing with the Stars this past Monday, said by a 17-year-old Sadie Robertson (yeah, the Sadie from Duck Dynasty). I wasn’t actually watching Dancing with the Stars… I was making food (lettuce wraps: they were delicious) and waiting for a new episode of Castle to come on after. I’m glad I paid attention to her little segment, though. Sadie’s words have been stuck in my head all week. Not just because I see the irony in it—her grandfather, Phil Robertson, was a college quarterback who played ahead of Terry Bradshaw years ago, before all this Duck Dynasty nonsense came about. The same grandfather that just recently came under a lot of scrutiny by the press after he vocalized his personal religious views on homosexuality. The same grandfather who then stood by those comments, despite their show being put in jeopardy. I’m not going to say I agree with his stance, but as the old saying goes, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Or something like that.

Anyway, back to Sadie’s quote, it’s just an interesting thought to entertain. If you’re holding the football, you’re going to get tackled. That’s not to say you can’t make a great play… but expect the tackle is coming. Sooner or later. Accept it. If you’re in the public eye, everything falls under such trivial scrutiny. It’s something I can only assume absolutely sucks. This is why I really don’t understand why some people are so obsessed with getting their 15 minutes of fame—whether it’s being on a reality show, or being some form of YouTube, Twitter or Instagram celebrity. We all think we want that kind of fame, but we don’t understand what kind of price it comes at. You think anyone cares if I tweet something offensive? If my “nudes” leaked? No, because I am a nobody in the public eye. No one is waiting for me to screw up (unless you are, but then your life must really suck).

I think this quote is applicable to the every day struggle of the plebeians too—in putting yourself out there in general. Social situations, job opportunities, dating… if you put yourself out there, expect to get knocked down. But also keep in mind that falling on your ass doesn’t mean you won’t get back up to make a great play.

I don’t know. Just something I wanted to share this week. Here’s Sadie’s dance, in case you were interested: it’s actually kind of fun to watch.