The weekend of September 24-25 was an eventful one in Buffalo, NY. Not only did the Buffalo Bills defeat the New England Patriots, but the Foo Fighters played to a packed First Niagara Center crowd that same Sunday night in Buffalo. After listening to the post-game player and coach comments, followed by the concert, I was struck by the similarities between Foo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl’s approach and that of the Buffalo Bills—particularly coach Chan Gailey. Reporters grilled each player one at a time in the post-game show, trying to find out what spectacular statements Chan Gailey must have made to motivate them, and they all responded with the same answer. “Coach Gailey just told us to stick to the plan and keep playing.” And the Bills, facing a 21-point deficit against a far better opponent, did something extraordinary. They just kept playing.

As fans all over the globe celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” it is a good time to reflect not on “what might have been” with that seminal band, but how Dave Grohl “kept playing” as Chan Gailey told his players to do in the locker room at halftime after falling behind to the Patriots. The “keep playing” refrain makes perfect sense in hindsight, but it is often not considered in many hopeless situations. Rather than give up and end his career after Kurt Cobain’s death—and let’s face it, no one would have blamed Dave Grohl if he quit music altogether—Dave formed the Foo Fighters and launched an extraordinary, lengthy and fulfilling second act of his career. After 16 years, it is hard to remember a time when the Foo Fighters weren’t around. While Dave lost a dear friend and bandmate in Kurt Cobain, he “kept playing” and formed what is widely regarded as one of the best rock bands in existence today. The multigenerational fan base on hand in Buffalo illustrated firsthand Dave Grohl’s influence on rock music. What he accomplished is a football equivalent of erasing a 3-touchdown deficit…