The Packers claim they’re no longer thinking about the 12-point lead squandered late in the NFC Championship against the Seahawks. A former member of the team whose fingerprints are smeared all over the loss admits he still does.
Tight end Brandon Bostick, who tried and failed to cover an onside kick with Green Bay clinging to a five-point lead, remains haunted by his impromptu decision to go for the ball instead of block for receiver Jordy Nelson, who had the assignment of getting the kick.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that play,” Bostick said Friday, via Bob McManaman of azcentral sports. “I think about it all the time – at least once a day. When I do, I just try to snap myself out of it real quick.”’
The Packers let Bostick go “real quick” in the offseason, and the Vikings claimed him on waivers. Minnesota cut him after training camp, and Bostick now is a member of the Cardinals’ practice squad.
“I’ve had a lot of death threats,” Bostick said. “I don’t take them serious and I’m not too worried about it. I still get a lot of hate mail and stuff. I expected that. I read it all, I took it on, and I just use it as fuel.”
He plans to never stop using the moment as motivation.
“I’ve never been hesitant about talking about it, because it’s part of me,” Bostick said. “It’s part of who I am. I’ve always faced it. I just take it head on. I’ve never shied away from it.”
It’s hard not to respect that approach. Everyone makes mistakes. We can either pretend that they never happened (or try to claim they weren’t actually mistakes) or we can own them, learn from them, and move on.