What the NFL can tell us about existential crisis

When helping a friend pick NFL games earlier this week, I couldn't help to feel a familiar feeling. I poured through data to find the team with the best advantage, point differential, time of possession, even 1st downs allowed. As I broke down each match up to look for favorable statistical data, I started to feel a little helpless. What good is all of this research if the starting quarterback breaks his leg on the second play? What if the weather changes and the outcome of the game is altered by a storm? What if aliens land on the fifty yard line? Even the best statistical advantages couldn't help me in certain situations. At some point, my pick would be subject to conditions I couldn't control. Why even pick? I contemplated suicide. Too dramatic, I thought. Smaller steps...ok, what if I made the best decisions based on the data I had and then enjoyed the process of the game, marveled at its twists and turns, and when it was over, appreciated the ride, win or lose? Isn't that a much more rational approach to life? Who knows how our lives really work? Are we a walking set of predetermined decisions? Are we the result of a massive butterfly effect that we can't control? I propose that either way, all we can do is make the best decisions based on the information we have, enjoy where we're at, and appreciate the ride. Oh, and by the way, go Packers.