Jim Kelly advises Messi how to cope with Copa disappointment
Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly doled out some advice to Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, as the latter is reeling from a heartbreaking defeat in the Copa America finale.
Messi steered Argentina to the final of the tournament, but the team lost in penalty kicks to Chile. The reigning FIFA Ballon d'Or winner missed his critical penalty, and promptly retired from international soccer at the end of the match.
Kelly attempted to draw a parallel between Messi's lack of international trophies, to the Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl defeats spanning from 1990-1993, stating it's a team game.
"The bottom line is, you go out there, you play your heart out," Kelly said to ESPN's Mike Rodak. "You know you're one person on the team of a lot. Yeah, when you're the star, there's the old cliche, 'You get too much of the praise when you win, too much of the blame when you lose.' The thing is, for me, I knew that I had teammates. We all played together. We won as a team; we lost as a team.
"For me, I don't cry about it. Yeah, of course, I would love to have won one, two (Super Bowls). I would have loved to win them all. It just wasn't in the good Lord's plans. I tried, I busted my butt. It just didn't happen. Go out and enjoy yourself."
It's a bit contrived to compare Kelly's plight to Messi's, as the Barcelona forward helped his club win four UEFA Champions League titles and eight La Liga championships, among myriad individual honors.
Regardless, Kelly knows the pain that comes from losing at the highest level, and his advice may prove to be useful for Messi.