The problem with that analogy is that politics isn’t football. In football the goals don’t move. In politics, everybody with an agenda (and that’s everybody) can and will move them.
Direction. Towards our goal or not. Applies to anything and everything. Business... War... Sports... Banging hot chicks... Anything and everything.
With zealotry you end up throwing one mighty spiral for a touchdown with an ass beating of 108 to 6 because you went for the 2 point conversion and every other try got intercepted.