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I love the Olympics. The last time they were on, I could not help but stay up and watch. My greatest memory of the games was the opening ceremonies. As I watched athletes from around the world stand together, I was reminded of the power of athletics to build bridges between people from very different backgrounds.
As the Competitor’s Creed states, your desire as an athlete is to “compete for the pleasure of [your] Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ and the reputation of the Holy Spirit.” That is truly competing with a spiritual focus, not a physical focus.
"I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988." After denying it for nearly 15 years, baseball legend Pete Rose finally admitted that he bet on baseball and his own team while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Rose's confession is the root of his new autobiography, "My Prison Without Bars."
God gives us a lot of guidelines on how to live life in Scripture. Yet, I find the command to confess our sins to one another is a hard thing for many to do — not just Pete Rose. So often our sins are secret. We keep our sins locked up in a fireproof safe. Sometimes we might confess to God (which is good), but others … no way! It'd be humiliating, embarrassing and would ruin our image. I have these thoughts all the time.
Running up the score, pressing until the final whistle, up 60, playing starters in the fourth quarter, scoring the tenth touchdown of the game, keeping your number-one goal scorer in to pad his/her stats … When is enough, enough? We see this in everyday sporting events, and it is beginning to creep into the youth sports movement. Ok, let me set the record straight. I am as competitive as the next person and have had my fair share of blowouts both for and against me in my days as a player and a coach, but where does compassion vs. competitiveness need to be addressed?
Southside High had a good baseball team. They were one of the top teams in their conference and area. They had great hitting, fielding and pitching. The Stars (Southside's nickname) were playing in the area tournament. In their first two games they fell behind, caught up, took the lead, and in both games with bases loaded, Coach brought in their closer, Mark, whom everyone called Flick. In both games, Flick came in and brought his team from near defeat to the championship game with his flawless pitching.
I love ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day. There’s something about sports highlights that makes me want to lace up the shoes and put on the jersey again! Even though ESPN’s is my favorite Top 10 list, there are many others out there. Certainly, David Letterman made it famous with his comical late-night list. But did you know that God created the original Top 10 list a long time ago? It’s called the Ten Commandments.
Many discussions about this year’s men’s Final Four have been filled with a number of main storylines: VCU and their improbable run, Butler’s incredible two-year dominance, UConn’s amazing post-season string, and Kentucky’s resilience. As story after story emerges about each team and their journey, members of each squad are discussing their season’s defining moments.
Smarty Jones became the third consecutive horse, and the 18th overall, to fail to win the Triple Crown after winning the first two legs. Virtually an unknown before winning the Kentucky Derby, many fans have grown to adore the young Philly. "We're starving for a Triple Crown winner, and I think everyone thought that this was the one, including myself," said Smarty Jones' trainer John Servis.
Recently, I made a pretty significant change in my life. After working for the same company for more than 11 years, I changed jobs. It was a really hard decision—one I agonized over for weeks. I wasn’t unhappy in my job, and I worked for and with some amazing people. I hadn’t even thought about leaving, but another opportunity came along and I really started thinking about possibly making a change. The old line “It’s not you; it’s me” was really true in this case.
But I realized that I’d become comfortable. Too comfortable. And not just in my job. I was too comfortable in my prayer life, in my faith walk, and in my daily Scripture study. I wasn’t challenging myself to have a deeper, closer relationship with Christ.
As athletes, we all want to win the big game. We all want to win the championship. We all want to hang a banner on the wall of the gym. But when it comes to being champions of a different kind—champions for Christ—only those of us who truly understand and “get” Exodus 14:14 have the chance to do that.
An imprint is a permanent mark. To leave a mark means to engrave, etch, impress or inscribe. When I was 8 years old, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride my older brother's motorcycle. I wanted to show him how "big" I was, so I took off with reckless abandon. About 100 yards down the dirt road, my front tire hit a hole that I hadn’t seen. As I flew through the air, my life passed before my eyes! I landed in a ditch, and the motorcycle landed on my back. Ouch! Thankfully, as a result of being in the ditch, the only part of the motorcycle that was touching my back was the muffler. As the muffler burned through my shirt and my flesh, I experienced a great deal of pain. My brother rescued me, and I was forbidden to ride his bike ever again.
The University of Illinois men's basketball team jumped out of the gate in the 2004-05 season, reeling off nine straight victories, including convincing wins over No. 24 Gonzaga and No. 1 Wake Forest. Impeccable early-season play vaulted the Fighting Illini into the top spot in the country for the first time since 1989. While it would be easy to allow the success and the ranking go to their heads, senior forward Roger Powell says, "I always like to talk about the two H's: We have to stay humble and hungry."
The intimidation tactics employed by the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team backfired on them against Illinois in the 2nd round of the 2004 NCAA tournament. During warm-ups, Bearcat players warned the Illini to get ready for a bus ride home after the game. Instead of intimidating Illinois, the Cincinnati trash-talking sparked the Fighting Illini onto a 92-68 thrashing. Following the game, it was the Bearcats who were boarding the bus for their trip home.
In 1954 Don Larson struggled through one of the worst seasons ever experienced by a pitcher. He won three games and lost twenty-one. Strangely enough, he was then traded to the best team in baseball at that time, the New York Yankees. Things got better for Don Larson. Two years later, he had a record of 11–5 and the team made it to the World Series. In game five Larson pitched perfectly; not one runner got to first base. Afterward Larson said, “It’s amazing…not long ago, I was a nobody, and now, everybody wants me.”
I, like many Illinoisans, woke up Monday morning pleased to see that the University of Illinois men's basketball team rose to the top of the Associated Press' newly released poll. Their No. 1 ranking is only the third in Illini men's basketball history, and their first since 1989.
Every decision in the NFL playoffs is crucial because it’s "go on or go home" time. With his St. Louis Rams down by three points and 15 yards from the end zone late in their 2004 playoff game against the Carolina Panthers, Rams' coach, Mike Martz elected to let the clock run down and kick a field goal to send the game to overtime. The Panthers prevailed in OT, 29-23. After being questioned about his decision to play for overtime, Martz said, "I was very sure about the decision, and I don't regret that decision."
If you were to list the qualities of the people you most admire, a thankful attitude would probably be at the top of the list. Attitude will make or break a person. In his book Attitude 101, John Maxwell says this concerning attitude:
As a competitor at heart, I love sports video games. I used to play one that involved boxing, and there was one fighter whose nickname was "Sweet Sugar." In this particular game, the system would remind me every time my opponent would knock me out. Truthfully, I didn’t think there was anything “sweet” about that!
I was thinking about Sweet Sugar the other day and thought about a personal dilemma. Sometimes in life I find myself confusing love and grace with the act of “sugar-coating.” What that means is that I gloss over a situation and refuse to deal with the truth about what is going on.
If you are a subscriber to ESPN the Magazine, you are undoubtedly familiar with their annual “body issue” in which professional athletes from various sports pose unclothed to highlight specific parts of their bodies. After seeing their latest body issue, I was taken aback and was admittedly a little appalled that these athletes—some of whom are the best in their sports—were sending what I thought was a very self-focused message.
The bar in sports continues to be set higher and higher. Athletes, whether on the professional, college, or high school level, are constantly looking for new ways to get an advantage, especially physically. And just like with ESPN the Magazine, the media has become an influential part of this and can often be used in a negative manner.
Across from the headquarters of FCA, atop a hill, is a tall communications tower. In the almost three years that I’ve worked here, I’ve glanced at this tower hundreds of times and never given it a second look. But yesterday morning I caught myself daydreaming. It was in this daydream that God taught me a beautiful lesson--one He’s been teaching me over and over again for the last several weeks.
At the top of this tower is a flashing light. It guides air traffic and prevents aircrafts from flying into it. No matter the time, day or season, this light continues to flash, and communication continues to be broadcast.
The United States softball team entered the 2004 Olympic Games with one thing on their collective minds — winning a gold medal. Not only did they win the gold, they dominated. They went undefeated, outscoring their opponents 51-1, surrendering their lone run in a 5-1 win in the gold medal game against Australia. "That team is clearly on a mission," said Australian coach, Simon Roskvist.
In his first four seasons in the major leagues, Cardinals' first-baseman Albert Pujols has generated statistics that have people comparing him to Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and other greats. "There are too many things in the game you have to worry about," Pujols said. "If you start putting those things in your head, you just put pressure on yourself. You don't want that. You want to keep your mind clear and make sure you are prepared mentally and physically. I believe I've done that for most of my career, and I want to keep doing that."
I was watching an interview on ESPNews with Barry Bonds. The topic was steroids. Bonds' personal trainer was one of four men recently charged in a steroid-distribution ring that allegedly supplied dozens of professional athletes with banned substances.
Athletes at all levels these days are doing all they can to get the edge. Nutritional supplements — some legal and healthy, others not — are widely used to give athletes an extra boost, better workouts and faster strength gain. I was thinking, what are the supplements of our spiritual lives? What does the spiritual steroid (without the negative connotation) look like? How do we get a boost?
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