The atmosphere was filled with tension. Players from both teams had been encouraged to protest the game. An outside source was trying to convince players that they were being exploited by big-time college sports. Everyone—including the 74,000 fans watching—was anticipating a conflict, but what people didn’t expect was some risky prayer.

People can be in many loving relationships throughout their lifetime and never realize that true love is an action outside of emotion. Love takes skill, and like any skill it takes practice and attention to develop. In junior high I was enrolled in Tae Kwon Do for about three years. I loved it. I loved the discipline and skill involved. We learned all kinds of moves, refined them, then later put them to use in sparring.

Becky was the best player on her team. Every one wanted to play like Becky. She was a hard worker, but there was more to her than what people could see. On a road trip, the last freshman selected for the team that year broke her foot during a practice before a game. When they arrived at the hotel that night, Becky carried her teammate's bags to her room and asked her to stay with her. For the rest of the trip, Becky helped this little freshman with everything she needed.

A college coach once said, “The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare.” As coaches, we do everything we can to make sure our teams are prepared for the game. We give them training, exercise, motivation, uniforms, and equipment. We want them to succeed and win when they face the opponent. Nothing would be worse than to show up to face an opponent without being prepared.

How do we pray about our sports lives? Do we regularly talk with God about each situation or just when things seem out of control? Which kind of prayer does God hear well? My answer may be surprising. It’s exciting to me that God doesn’t discriminate between my weakest prayers of panic and my most serene prayers of thanksgiving.

Every time I hear about a coach who has been fired after a year or two at a school, it breaks my heart. I once told an athletic director that it would take four years to turn a program around to contend for a league championship. That was not what he wanted to hear, so I did not get the job.

In our society we want everything right now. Actually, we wanted it yesterday. A great example is in the fact that we actually drive through places to get our food. At most fast food places they don’t even hold the cup to fill your drink anymore; they put it on a belt, it goes under a fountain, they push a button, and the drink comes out. I suppose it’s faster. I’m not sure it’s better, but it’s faster.

Touchdown celebrations have reached a whole new level these days. High-fives from your teammates just don’t cut it anymore. After making a touchdown catch against the Giants in week 15 of the 2003 season, New Orleans Saints’ wide receiver Joe Horn pulled out his cell phone from the goalpost and made a call from the end zone. One NFL coach responded, “This is a team game. There was a quarterback that threw the ball, and there was an offensive line that protected for him. I just think that when you draw attention to yourself, it’s not necessary.”

There are two sayings that I have heard hundreds of times in my life. One is, “You can’t tell a book by its cover” and the second is an advertising statement, “It’s what’s up front that counts.” I would like to take a little liberty with those two statements, applying them to the world of sports. I think that anyone who has played baseball can attest to the fact that “you can’t tell a baseball by its cover” and “It’s what’s inside that counts.”

Rich and I are very competitive friends. We are like brothers in so many ways. We both love to serve and work hard at it. He is in the restaurant industry, and I am in sports ministry. We both serve on the Welcome Team at church and lead small groups. A common phrase when working together is “game on.” This basically means we will do all we can to serve others the best we can.

As servants of Christ, Rich and I both understand that we are to love others as brothers and sisters in Christ, holding them in the highest of regard. This truly becomes evident when we practice these habits with nonbelievers. When we strive to outdo each other in honoring others, this bond will hold any team together whatever problem arises.

John was a great miler who liked to take the lead early in the race and run to victory. His coach was concerned about an upcoming race. John’s top opponent liked to come from behind to win.

When the race started, John raced to the lead. His coach told him to move to the inside of lane one, but John ignored him. Laps two and three, his coach said the same thing, but John only grew upset with him. On lap four, his coach was insistent, but John stayed firm.

My family competed at everything—football, basketball, lacrosse—even dinner as we inhaled our food to finish first. We called my dad Captain Intensity because he did everything at 110 percent. I remember hearing of his lacrosse days at the U.S. Naval Academy, and when he played against Jim Brown (football and lacrosse player at Syracuse and one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time). My dad had a hit on Brown that changed the course of the game. It was a breakthrough play for my dad, who then started every game after that.

Breakthrough is a great word used in sports. Any play that changes the course of a game is usually called a breakthrough play. A breakthrough game changes the course of a team’s season.