Football Is in the Air

“Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” - Rudyard Kipling

Despite ongoing questions and concerns surrounding this year’s football season, I can’t help but feel it in the air. After months of waiting, both professional and collegiate football seasons are underway. Although the 2020 season will look different given the pandemic protocols, I think everyone is excited that football is back.

While recently deplaning from my flight back from Colorado, the humidity hit me in the face once I stepped foot on the jetway. And you know what? I liked it because it reminded me the football season is here. 

I love the game of football. We love the game of football. In fact, my father and all six boys in my family played DI football so it played a formative role in each of our lives. Like so many, our love for the game doesn’t stop with the game itself, but rather for the lessons it taught us. It taught us to dream, prepare, and compete. It taught us the importance of teamwork and servant leadership. It taught us discipline, how to enjoy the process, and that hard work and sacrifice always pays off. 

As long as I can remember, I was told the football would help prepare me for my business life, but frankly, I never recognized it until many years later. Now, more than ten years after my career has ended, I realize what a significant impact the game has had on me. In addition to the attributes above, the game of football-shaped my mindset. It ingrained in me a desire to strive to get better, persevere in the face of adversity, and worry only about what I can control. That mindset and experience helped me become a better business professional and leader. 

Last July, I wrote an article titled Take What the Defense Gives You, which discussed instability in the world with the possibility of an upcoming recession and how we at Weatherford Capital planned to navigate it. There was no way we could have predicted a global pandemic, but that is precisely the point. The game of football taught us to stay focused on the fundamentals while preparing for the unexpected. When COVID-19 hit, Weatherford Capital was well-positioned to take advantage of a surplus of off-market opportunities, marked by significant valuation compression. This type of preparation and mindset is the lifeblood of our firm. We take pride in” keeping our heads” when “all about you are losing theirs'' - Rudyard Kipling.

-Drew Weatherford