On Sports and Faith and Life and Balance

Bruce Feiler wrote a great article a few weeks ago that my friend Erik Ullestad shared in his weekly "Recommended Reads" email from Elbow Co. (link here)  Take a few minutes and read what Bruce has to say about sports, faith, and families today, and then come back here for just a bit of me pushing back but also heartily endorsing much of what Bruce says.

Days of Thankfulness: Sports

Today was quite the day.  Beloved and I got up and drove into town without the girls thanks to a family friend volunteering to take them for a few hours.  Beloved had a class to teach at the gym, so I rode in with her and jogged about 1.5 miles to central campus at Iowa State, where I registered for and ran in the Lutheran Services in Iowa Blue Sky Day 5K.  Nice little 3.1 miler around campus, for a total of about 4.5 for the day.  Ran pretty quickly too, even though I overdressed and got very hot toward the end.  Then we came home and I got to spend a few hours doing my favorite thing this time of year:  watch college football.

I was a decent player in high school.  Could have played some small college ball if I'd chosen to do so, but I chose to attend the University of Nebraska, where I would not have measured up.  But I've always loved sports of all shapes and sizes.  Yes, we overemphasize sports in this country.  Yes, parents are far too willing to spend far too much and sacrifice far too many things for the sake of their kids' sports dreams.  Yes, I agree that we're obsessed with them to an unhealthy degree.  But for all that, there's a core that remains good.

What's good?  When moments like this happen:



I never had a Hail Mary moment work out for me as a player, but I remember good things about sports all the same.  Working together to achieve a common goal.  Pain.  Sweat.  Sacrifice.  Unity.  Adversity shared.  Losses acknowledged.  Victories cherished.  When we do sports right, it helps us grow as people.  Those boys in scarlet today will remember the time they bonded together, refused to quit fighting and accomplished the near-impossible.  Those boys in purple today will remember the time they worked together, gave everything they had, and lost it in a heartbeat.  BOTH experiences teach us life lessons.

There's an inscription on Memorial Stadium in Lincoln that Husker fans have cherished for years:

Not the victory but the action:

Not the goal but the game:

In the deed the glory.

Today I'm thankful for sports.  Whether it's the kind I play now, where I'm mainly measuring myself against my own goals and efforts, or the kind where someone keeps score, when we do it right sport is magnificent and wonderful and heartbreaking and terrible all at once, just like we are.

Friday Five: Going for the...Couch?

Another week, another collapse. Yesterday afternoon I slept more than the girls did - took a 90 minute nap during their naptime, then another hour after Beloved got home from work. Apparently I needed a bit more rest than I've been giving myself lately. So, Lenten Devotions went by the wayside for a couple of days. Sorry about that.

But Songbird gave us an AWESOME Friday Five this morning, and I figured I might get back int the swing of things by playing along.

It's been two weeks of snow, or not enough snow, of heartbreak before the action even began, of snowboards and skis and skates, of joy and sorrow. At our house, we've stayed up too late, and we don't even watch sports any other time!

1) Which of the Winter Olympic sports is your favorite to watch?
Alpine skiing, followed closely by speed skating and bobsled/luge/skeleton. Long track, that is - while I think Apollo Anton Ohno is indeed a great athelete, that game is just too random for me to get very interested. I LOVE watching Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso, Bode Miller and all the other ski nuts throw themselves down mountains. To me, the alpine events and the 'timed' events are the essence of the Winter Olympics. As I told someone Wednesday night, if there's a stopwatch I'm all over it, but if it's a "scored" event, I couldn't care less.

2) Some of the uniforms have attracted attention this year, such as the US Snowboarders' pseudo-flannel shirts and the Norwegian Curling team's -- ahem -- pants. Who do you think had the best-looking uniforms?

I really liked the Norwegian unis - I mean, I watch golf when John Daly, Ian Poulter and Duffy Waldorf are playing, so ugly pants are nothing new for me. At least the Norwegians didn't wear a non-matching hat like Duffy's known to do.

3) And Curling. Really? What's up with that?

Haven't a clue. All I know is whenever it's on, everyone stops and watches. Everyone. In the men's locker room at our gym this week, everyone has been spellbound every time curling is on. Which is a marked improvement over whoever keeps turning the damned TV to Fox News, by the way...

4) Define Nordic Combined. Don't look it up. Take a guess if you must. (There will be a prize for the best answer, but be aware, this is a judged sport.)

Best photo spread incorporating Dale sweaters & IKEA furniture. And yes, I do know what the actual event is, but this was kinda fun.

5) If you could be a Winter Olympics Champion just by wishing for it, which sport would you choose for winning your Gold Medal?

Gold Medal: Skeleton gets the nod over the other two because it combines high speed and head-first body position three inches off the surface. If you can find a bigger rush I'd like to see it.

Silver Medal: Alpine Skiing (especially the Super G). Seriously, who's sexier: Bode Miller/Lindsey Vonn or Figure Skating Guy/Figure Skating Girl? Your disagreement is invalid.

Bronze Medal: Bobsled. Because if Steve Holcomb (front left) can wear spandex, so can I. Besides, that hulk of non-fat muscle in the back? Former Cornhusker Curt Tomasevicz. Guy looks like he could still kick some serious ass in shoulder pads.

Pop Culture Roundup

Yesterday morning I finished Rodney Clapp's excellent book Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction: Christianity and the Battle for the Soul of a Nation. I quoted it a few weeks ago, but even though it's a fairly slim volume, I've delayed finishing it because it's not the sort of book you read just before falling to sleep. As a matter of fact, I'd say it's a book you read if you really want to wake up, especially Clapp's arguments against what he calls "democracy for infants." It reads a little differently after the 2008 Presidential election - some of the extreme partisanship and knee-jerk jingoism Clapp critiques is beginning to be stamped out. Some, but by no means all, unfortunately. *sigh*

Johnny Cash has become a source of fascination for me over the past few years. (As an aside, I've come to love both Rich Mullins and Johnny Cash just before their deaths; I hope in this case that things really don't come in threes...) When I was a kid, Cash was just another stack of records in the cabinet at home; I was too young and too arrogant to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of Cash's music (even though it was Johnny Cash who gave my Dad's beloved Statler Brothers their big break). And, as Clapp notes, the man himself was a giant of American music who embodied the many contradictions that lie at the center of American life. It is this life that leads all of these pictures to be true pictures of the man:





At the very least, I've learned more about being an American by paying more attention to Johnny Cash over the past few years.

Beloved and I sat down to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian last night. I was surprised at how little I liked the movie. There was a pervasive sense of ethical and moral development in the first installment of the Chronicles, and I guess I was expecting more of the same here, but it played far more like a generic medieval battle epic. I think I'm going to need to read the book again to see if it's true to Lewis' prose, or if this is a case of moviemakers ruining a good book (see The Seeker and Eragon, unfortunately - two wonderful fantasy tales that incompetents turned into dreadful movies).

This morning I started a new book: So Brave, Young and Handsome by Minnesotan Leif Enger. Five pages in I was absolutely hooked - it was acutely painful to close the book and come to work. I loved his first novel, Peace Like A River, and I have the feeling this one is going to be even better.

And, of course, yesterday marked the end of my three week obsession with the Tour de France. (made even more obsessive by our DVR, which allows me to watch the entire daily stage broadcast. I think Kristin's tired of watching men pedal bicycles in tights) I was so proud of Lance Armstrong for his strong ride, and I can't wait to see what he does next season as the leader of his new Radio Shack team. I love the insider stuff about the Tour as well: knowing who's leading in the sprint points competition, the King of the Mountains, the national champions from the various countries, watching the unwritten rules of the peloton play out over the course of the three week grand tour. Alberto Contador was a worthy champion this year, but something tells me next year will be a great showdown between Contador, Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins and the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank.

Well, that's the roundup for today, and thanks to Coffeepastor for the idea. See you soon.

Grace & peace,
Scott

Putting the "Student" Back In "Student-Athlete"

Hold on to your seats, those of you who've known me for a while: I'm about to praise someone from Florida State University. :-)

Heard two bits of interesting news yesterday. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh (pictured above) and Florida State's Myron Rolle (pictured below) have both chosen to return to delay entering the NFL draft for academic reasons.

Suh, a projected late-first/early-second round defensive lineman, came on like a BEAST at the end of the year, but every story about his decision to stay for his senior season mentions his family's dedication to academics and their desire that he leave Lincoln with a degree in hand. Rolle, also projected to be a first- or second-round pick, has elected to pursue the Rhodes Scholarship he was awarded earlier this year rather than enter the draft immediately.

Sure, both of these men will probably make millions in the NFL eventually, but it's refreshing and, I'll be honest, personally pleasing to think that there are still players in major college football who believe so strongly in pursuing academic accomplishments. Makes a guy who works on campus feel a bit better about things, to be honest. So, to the two of you and all the other athletes who are staying put in order to finish degree programs or do something remarkable without a football in hand, from all of us who want you to do well academically AND athletically, let me just say this: thanks.

Back From My Nice Trip To Lousybloggerville - Didja Miss Me?

I don't know why this happens sometimes. It's not as though I haven't had lots to blog about lately. There's this and this and and, as always, my girls. But I find that it's just tough lately to get focused enough to write coherently. The good news? I seem to be finding my way back into a writing groove. After a few hours this afternoon I've got most of this weekend's sermon written and the remainder blocked out, so finishing up tomorrow and Saturday morning should be a snap.

On This #1, let me just say that in a perfect world this would not be worthy of the salivating coverage provided by ESPN, et al. What has especially irked me this week is the "distraction" question (Will Alex Rodriguez' divorce prove to be a distraction for him and the Yankees as they try to get back into the AL East race?). Look, the AL East is a sports title - the Rodriguez marriage is a family thing. In my book, the problematic distraction was whatever led to the breakdown of the marriage - baseball, especially the Yankees, can step to the background for all I care.

On This #2, it is yet one more reason I'm proud to be a Husker. And, lest you think that my take on This #2 invalidates my take on This #1, I'm a faith guy first, family man second, and a Husker third (Granted, it's a close third sometimes, but how close is my business to figure out, right?).

As to the girls, they're fabulous. When I came home to pick up Ainsley and go to the gym while Kristin went to teach water aerobics, Ainsley came running, leapt into my arms and gave me a big hug. Could life be any better than a moment like that? I think not. Kristin is still GREAT WITH CHILD - heavy emphasis on the GREAT these days. Two weeks to go as of tomorrow, and frankly, I'm hoping and praying we make it that far, because she looks about as ripe as a pregnant lady could get without the baby actually falling out onto the floor vis a vis Monty Python and The Meaning Of Life.

Well, that's the good word from Cafe Diem in downtown Ames - see you tomorrow, I hope.