The Strain of Losing

Bills lineman Kyle Williams on continuing to keep your head up through lost seasons

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1. I think my dream hunting trip is to start during waterfowl season in Canada and migrate with the birds all the way to the Gulf Coast.

2. I think, with a lot of practice, I would like to qualify for a U.S. Mid-Amateur golf championship one day.

3. I think I would win an all-sports decathlon on our team.

4. I think if not for my opportunity to play college football, I may have gone into the military. They are the true heroes in this country. I also think I’d like to recommend two great books about perseverance and toughness: Unbroken and Lone Survivor. These men sit atop the totem pole of manhood. Respect and admiration.

5. I think it is has been frustrating not winning, but you can’t let it get to you. You only have so long to play, and I have been around awhile. Getting disgruntled isn’t going to help you win. You just have to keep working, keep pushing, hold your teammates accountable, set a higher standard and get there as fast as you can.

6. I think my teammate Fred Jackson continues to impress me as a player and as a man. He persevered from Division III Coe College, to the Arena league, to NFL Europe, to becoming our team captain and a leader in the NFL. Now he and his wife are expecting their fourth child. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to have four kids.

7. I think I actually have the perfect blend of family—two girls and two boys plus my wife make everything worth doing and more enjoyable. Ten years from now when they’re teenagers, maybe not.

8. I think being blessed to play this game is an honor. Everyone worries about wins and losses, but it’s the relationships that matter.

9. I think my hometown of Ruston, La., is the best place to raise a family. It has a real sense of community and pride. That’s why I moved back there last summer. Go Bearcats!

10. I think I received the best tip from my high school coach: “You can play hard sometimes and be a good player, or you can play as hard as you can all the time and be a special player.”

Check out The MMQB’s ongoing 10 Things I Think I Think series.