Rochester scored big this past weekend: one big win and one big loss.

First the win. Weren’t you proud to watch Renee Fleming singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl? Rochester might not have an NFL team, but we do have a music school, and Fleming did us proud. She added some class to Super Bowl entertainment that has gotten quite raunchy in recent years. Bravo, Renee Fleming!

The loss, of course, was Philip Seymour Hoffman. I hadn’t actually seen many of his performances, but by all accounts he was a great actor, well deserving of our hometown pride. In thinking about his death, I keep thinking about the heroes in those Greek tragedies. They all, by definition, had a fatal flaw. Phil died as he lived, the star in his own tragedy. May he rest in peace.

The fact that this win and loss both happened on the same day is a reminder once again that life is a crazy combination of joy and sorrow, often appearing at the same time, and leaving us not knowing whether to laugh or cry.