Daily Archives: September 14, 2016

 

 

I wouldn’t write this blog entry during basketball season, I don’t really care about basketball.  I wouldn’t write this entry during baseball season, I wouldn’t watch the World Series  if I could see it off my back deck!! Football is different story, this is my season, this is the time of year, sports wise, I live for!!!  This year a couple of things have started to spoil it for me and it has me thinking about the whole sports thing.

 

Let me start with a quick story.  A number of years ago, when I was a died in the wool UK basketball fan, and bled Blue, the Cats were in the National Championship game and had it won!!  In the last couple of seconds Duke’s Christitan Laettner hit a long 3 pointer to steal the victory.  I calmly got up and walked through the kitchen and picked up a empty 5 Gallon water container from our water dispenser, went out to the drive way and smashed it into the concrete over and over until it shatter into a thousand pieces.  When I returned to  the house Sherelene said,  in a sarcastic tone, “I hope you feel better! ”  I shot something back about leaving me alone, when she asked me a life altering question!  She said,  “who won the National Championship three years ago?”, I said, “I don’t know, what’s your point!!”, and not too kindly!  She said, “I was just wondering why it meant so much if you don’t know who won it only three years ago.”

 

She was right, what difference does it really make?  Under a lot of conviction, I made a commitment to not get invested with any team to the degree that their loosing would ruin my day, or steal my witness. I couldn’t really imagine Jesus smashing a water jug in my driveway if His team lost!!  I love to see a good game and I may be for one team, but I rarely get upset regardless of the outcome. Sports should be something we enjoy and learn from, not something that wrecks our day.

 

I still struggle every fall when my alma mater, (UK),  stumbles around the field looking like it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a football, but I’ve even gotten use to that,  and just switch to another game and enjoy that one!  I now enjoy following several teams.

 

I said two things have bothered me this year.  One is the number of un-sportsman like late hits and deliberate attempts to hurt another player.  For me football is rough, and I like it that way, but that kind of thing has no place in the game.  The second is the conduct of some NFL players during the National Anthem.  What is even worse is the League’s not addressing it.  I think at a minimum, those players that choose not to stand for the National Anthem should be asked to kneel in the dressing room and then come out to play and collect their millions of dollars!!!  The whole thing make me sick and to be honest I am less interested  in the NFL season than usual, just because of that!  I think all lives matter and we have a lot of problems in America to solve, but turning your back on the nation, it’s anthem and those that serve us, is not part of the solution!

 

I played high school football and my coach taught us how to win like a gentleman, and how to loose like a gentlemen, and take away valuable life lessons.  He taught us to appreciate at the efforts of our opponent, and how to be able to genuinely  shake their hand at the end of the game, win or loose.   I wish we could go back to that simple time, when we considered other above ourselves.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

P.S. …..and just for the record I am not one of those calling for Coach Stoops to loose his job, I actually like the guy, and feel bad for him.  Sadly I’ m afraid that even a risen Bear Bryant couldn’t bring football glory back to Kentucky!  The SEC is just too competitive and there’s just not enough superior talent to go around.  Our kids play hard, but they are in an up hill battle against the other programs in the SEC that get a larger percentage of the top talent.  As evidenced in this early season lots of so called lesser schools have great programs and compete head to head with the big boys! Take a deep breath and enjoy it for what is is, a game!!!!!!!