I’m glad college football is back. I especially enjoy little nuances such as players and coaches holding four fingers aloft to encourage their team in the fourth quarter. However, I think it’s actually the third quarter in any athletic endeavor that makes or breaks most close contests.
After the halfway point, one’s goal is still far away, muscles tire and the mind borders between over confidence and under confidence, making it easy to lose focus and make mental errors.
Like art, life often imitates sports. The third quarter of anyone’s life is where true character generally surfaces. That is when most people reach the pinnacle of their work, make the most money and make their greatest contributions to their nation, community, family and church. The fourth quarter, on the other hand, is when most of us retire from active jobs, serve as volunteers and realize the joy of being a grandparent.
I thought about that analogy recently during the services for late Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who died Aug. 25 at the age of 81. Character-wise, he had a great fourth quarter if one measures the kind words spoken by former Presidents Bush and Obama. Also, institutional politicos, including McCain’s daughter, offered moving eulogies embedded with with political opinions.
But the senator made a costly fumble during the third quarter of life that he called “the worst mistake of my life.” McCain was an aspiring politician in 1981. He had retired from the Navy, moved to Arizona and married his second wife, Cindy, a wealthy woman with significant political connections. Through her family, he met some powerful men, namely Charles Keating, who helped launch his political career. Keating was a banker in Arizona, and he later used his influence with McCain and other senators to manipulate legislation favoring failed saving and loan institutions.