By Rabbi Josh Yuter

Capitalizing on the popularity of the NCAA tournament, ESPN classic began re-airing some of the more exciting tournament games. I recently caught a glimpse of the station rebroadcasting the telecast of 2003 championship game between Kansas and Syracuse. Having seen the game when it first aired, I knew the outcome and general flow of the game. Syracuse would open a large lead in the first half, Kansas would come back, and Syracuse would ultimately clinch a close game when Hakim Warrick blocks a potentially tying shot with less than one second left in the game.

For sports fans, there’s an obvious attraction to watching “classic” sporting events. Some games had historical significance for a particular memorable or record-setting performance. Others could be games which went down to the wire, with a clutch if not improbable play deciding the outcome. If the game was in the post-season or for the championship, clutch plays may even attain legendary status.

Watching these classic games from our current vantage point, we likely know what happens, when it happens, and how it happens. We know that Michel Jordan hangs in mid-air over Craig Ehlo, Scott Norwood misses wide right, and Bill Buckner…you get the idea.

Knowing the surprise ending of most dramas would ruin the experience. For sports knowing the results doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the game, and in some cases it can actually make watching the game more enjoyable.

If you’re a serious fan, you can appreciate the events leading up to critical moment or a pivitol play. You can analyze the strategies and figure out why certain offensive or defensive schemes worked or failed or which subsutitions either won or lost the game. The more you can see of the picture, the greater you can appreciate the details.

Unfortnuately, real life doesn’t work this way. While we can remember certain things we’ve done, thought or said, we don’t always recall important details which led to a defining moment. Furthremore, there is no objective goal like winning a game by which we can evaluate which of our decisions were good or bad. Some consequences might seem lousy now, but may lead to positive results 20 or 30 years down the line. Not only that, but just like a correct defense may be thrwarted by a lucky shot, many of our good choices can still result in disappointment.

There are plenty of Jewish sources which advocate contructive retrospection. Every year before Yom Kippur we (hopefully) do teshuva with the intent to better ourselves. Like halftime adjustments, we’re supposed to examine what we’re doing – both right and wrong – and fix whatever isn’t working.

Unlike most sports, we don’t know when our game will end. We don’t have a game clock in front of us counting down in large numbers to 0:00 and there is no scoreboard leading up to the 9th inning. We don’t have the ability to break down everything at once and start again.

However, while we don’t get to see our complete game, we also don’t have to wait an entire off-season brooding over an unlikely upset. We always have the ability to reflect and to adjust our game plan at any given stage. Even if we botch a play or get behind, the there’s always enough time to turn it around. We might not have the ability to see the entire picture just yet, but for now we’re still in the middle of game and we’re still playing. For whatever time we have left, the outcome is still in our hands.

We’ll have plenty of time to watch the replays later.

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