Maraniss Essay Response

     David Maraniss’ “Winning actually isn’t the only thing” begins with a stating of distain towards Sheldon Adelson miss-quoting Vince Lombardi. Maraniss continues to reveal his initial hatred towards the call of the game. He then questions whether winning was the only thing, and if the packers were the ones who benefited from the call whether he would have been happy or not. He goes on to reveal Roger Goodel’s mistake in replacing the referees. He then looks at the reaction in Seattle’s coach Pete Carroll’s reaction and is quite displeased by his misplaced sense of accomplishment. Russell Wilson, former Wisconsin Badger quarterback and current Seattle Seahawks quarterback, was a different story for him as he has seen him perform and speak well in the past; he was however displeased with his speech after the game. He then speaks of Vince Lombardi’s past as a fair and honest coach and believes that if the Packers were in the Seahawks’ shoes, they would not have treated it as an accomplishment. He concludes by saying that the score is final, but the Seahawks should not feel as if they have accomplished anything.

      I agree with most of what David Maraniss has said in his article on winning and the Packer Seahawk incident. I am equally upset at the miss use of Vince Lombardi’s legacy. While I am bias towards the Packers, I believe that had they won from a bad call, I would not be happy with, nor expect the packers to be proud of a win like that. That would go against them as a team and their history with Lombardi. The Packers remain the only publicly owned institution in American professional sports, and due to this, they are responsible for upholding their honesty. The Seahawks addressed their win honestly, but not the questionable call that inevitably led to their win.