Maybe it's because we're getting ready to watch the Super Bowl, and because the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the game...Or maybe because we all wait for that commercial that will knock our socks off, and we think of the ones that have in the past...
For whatever reason, I'm enjoying revisiting the Coca-Cola commercial that ran almost a quarter century ago, featuring Pittsburgh Steeler "Mean Joe" Green, limping back to the lockere room, and growling at the little boy offering his coke. When the commercial ends with a smiling, coke-refreshed Joe tossing his footbal jersey to the adoring child, a moment was created that will be talked about when I'm 80 and they are getting ready to play Super Bowl LXX!
Which makes me think about what people remember as the years past. Sure, I remember the Steelers team of the 70's with Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swan and Mean Joe Green. And there are, no doubt, a relative few sports jumkies who could recite from memory the stats of what Joe Green did on the field, any record he might have held, and could give a description of the best game he ever played. Yet how many millions more remember a moment, even one scripted and stage for a TV commercial, when a child's selfless act of kindness was rewarded with a improbable smile and a sweaty jersey?
What moment in my life is most worthy of remembering? A night when I worked later than anyone else in the office? A decision I made that meant profit for me and a boost to my net worth? A time when I have gone to head-to-head with a competitor (or even a collegue) and come out the winner, and them the loser? Or has there been a time in my life when I have given, not for obligation, and not for credit or recognition, and not for future favor, but selflessly expecting nothing in return?
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