Love is What Drives This Game

"I am so very proud of this football team. And I am man enough, man enough, to tell you that I love you." -Tom Coughlin before Super Bowl XLVI.

Football, as Al Pacino so boldly states in Any Given Sunday, is a game of inches. The level of competition in the NFL is so strong, that it takes a team more focused on the goal than any other. It takes a team with complete faith in every member of the team to fulfill their duty assigned by coaches. A team where there's no questioning any individual, and no pointing fingers. It takes a team that loves each other so much that it's the team concept that drives them. It's not what to do for yourself individually, it's what to do for the greater accomplishments of the team.

And you can't have that without love.

Tom Coughlin's exuberant admittance to the team that he loved them, signified the ultimate goal for any coach: to be completely satisfied with your teams work ethic. Coach Coughlin's warm compliments gave the Giants the last bit of belief they needed to defeat the New England Patriots, and quite fittingly show that they had completely come together as a team.

That's what football is all about. Love, in various forms, is what drives this game. Most people can admit they love football, and that's where the tradition begins. The itch before training camp, the sudden almost feverish desire to watch, talk, live, and breathe football is an indescribable commitment to the game. Fans love football, and nothing makes them happier than visualizing their heroes come together as a unit and take home lord Lombardi. More specifically, nothing makes them happier than watching the team surrounded by the people they love. And that's no coincidence.

With training camp around the corner, there will be many players on the Giants fighting for a home. Their love of the game has driven them to try and show that they belong with this franchise, that they can be a part of the Giants family. To truly be a part of the NFL competition, a lot of players must win their individual position battles, and the approval of their coaches. That type of pressure may be more significant than anything else in the game, and most can't do it without the love and support of people behind them, and their own individual determination.

In training camp, true colors can be shown. Going into camp, every player has their own circumstances, some more favorable than others. In 1983, the Giants had the final pick in the NFL draft, and selected running back John Tuggle. In those years, there were twelve rounds in the draft, so Tuggle was the 335th pick overall. Naturally, there was a very limited chance that Tuggle would even make the team, but as a rookie he became a true member of the Giants and won special teams player of the year.

Tuggle's circumstances unfortunately then turned to tragic, when he discovered he had a rare kind of tumor in his shoulder. John Tuggle's love of football and great personality left the team driven with a cause in their run to Super Bowl XXI. The teams love of Tuggle, and of each other gave the Giants franchise their very first Super Bowl title and rewarded the loyal fans that had endured an eighteen year playoff drought. "He had those qualities that at first you just couldn't see," said Bill Parcells, "you had to know him."

John Tuggle is a terrific example of what love in football can do for you. There was more to him than first interpreted, and his folklore ended up being highly significant for a dominant Giants football team that loved each other. Football if put simply, is about coming together, and Tuggle sparked that legacy even if he wasn't around to see it.

In training camp anything can happen. Careers can be ruined, created, and altered in many ways. But training camp is where it all starts. The love and commitment to the game must surpass all of the pressures being thrown at each player or they're not going to make it. Over the next couple of months, players have to establish where they belong to their coaches, players, and themselves. That type of accomplishment can't be driven without at the very least, a simple love of the game.

Why is football so important? For moments like Tom Coughlin's pregame speech before Super Bowl XLVI. Or for the legacy that was created by a mans heart and determination in John Tuggle. In training camp, everyone's got a chance to prove they belong in what is going to be their family. But at the same time, everyone's circumstances are different when training camp starts. But in the words of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, who overcame leukemia last season to be with his team, "circumstances don't make you...they reveal you."

With the ferocity of training camp soon to arrive, it's difficult to believe that the love of a team can spark from that type of hostility. But that's where it all begins. This Giants team is ready to come together, so they can hopefully one day come to the realization, just as Coach Coughlin did, that they love each other.

And with the Super Bowl at Metlife stadium this year, that type of team cohesion must be accomplished for the Giants to truly live in the dream. A team so grand that there's zero accountability for anyone besides themselves, and yet the complete and utter faith in their teammates to thrive at their assignments. That type of teamwork is enough to captivate anybody, and is a beautiful idea to strive for to live the dream.

To live that dream, there has to be love. Because love is what drives this game...from the start of training camp, to the Super Bowl...it's all possible through teamwork and love.