Pro football isn’t just a sport, they are in it to win. We, too, should try to triumph! – AJ T. 

Football is about having goals and reaching them. What are your goals? What are you doing to get there? – Jack S. 

The Superbowl is the biggest game but there are many games leading up to it. Think about all that went into the Jews leaving Egypt, the plagues and all leading up to the Exodus and then the count-up of 49 days until receiving the Torah. – Mordechai R. 

Sure, the QB and Running Backs get all the fame, but it takes others as well. QB’s can’t do what they do without the offensive linemen. In ROTC there’s a big line about leaders needing followers, and even the best leaders can’t do it alone. Yes, we’re big on Moses and Aharon, but we can’t forget the roles each of us play in making that vision happen. – Seth B.

The NFL has a hard salary cap so teams have to be clever in allocating their player salaries to meet their budgets. One thing about Tom Brady is that despite his great record and tremendous skill, he takes a below-market salary to allow the Patriots to build a better team around him. It’s a personal step back to make a better team overall. – Shaya

This week a terrible thing happened in NYC: a woman fell down subway stairs with her baby and stroller and the woman died from the fall. I wasn’t there to see what happened, but I’m assuming if people offered to help her down, maybe she’d be alive now. Teams are successful when players are there for one another, not everyone in it for themselves. – Asher L. 

Rabbi Mendel shared the 5 Halachot of being a fan, and the one that struck me most was the last one – to be a fan in good times and bad, for wins and losses. This is a very important point beyond sports, especially in relationships, with family and friends. The times that people need us most are the challenging times, to be a support and encouragement when things aren’t going as well. – Sam D. 

People turn on the game when it starts and they have no idea how much goes into it. Besides the players training and practice, the venues need to be readied, networks are being prepared, there’s lots of planning, all kinds of deliveries, so much work has to go into being ready for a live event like that. I work on the back end of some of these games, so I know first-hand. Same goes for Shabbat and the holidays, they don’t just happen, it doesn’t just appear. So much work goes into it! – Elliott W.