Before the Game…
This was an amazingly fun year to be a Bronco fan. I feel bad for those who only joined the season for the Super Bowl, where we got soundly defeated, because they missed an incredible season that was extremely entertaining! I don’t deny the Seahawks fans their gloating just as I would have were it reversed. But in the end, we spectators can take no credit nor share no blame for what happens in a football game. We can only watch and cheer or groan. Only the players are champions or losers, not us. So go be a Champion in life in the arena that is yours – that is worth cheering on, Denver, Seattle or Anywhere!
Tebowing at Half Time… (it didn’t help)
As I listen to all the “experts” whether on TV, radio or sitting in an armchair discuss this Bronco defeat… my thoughts go immediately to the words of Theodore Roosevelt who made the point so clearly that it is easy to criticize – the credit goes to the men on the field, win or lose, for they are the ones who are actually in the arena playing the game! The rest is just words. Read how Teddy said it:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” – Theodore Roosevelt
My brother’s attempt to “fix” my picture after the game.
I enjoy football. You are watching the best athletes in the world. Even the most athletic man you know might only last one game in the NFL. The most unsung, unknown NFL player is still an incredible athlete to be competing at that level. I watch in amazement at their skill, passion and fearlessness as they try to get a ball across a line more times than the other guys.
There is always next year!
While everyone is focused on the final loss, I choose to congratulate the Seahawks on fantastic win, and then reflect on an amazing year led by a quarterback who many wrote off as too old or too injured. To come back and make it to the Super Bowl in two years and break so many QB records in the process is nothing less than amazing. Can’t wait for next year!
When it comes to ministry – it is easy for us to be critics of what others are doing. To sit in our “armchairs” and point out all the faults, missed opportunities or mistakes of others. My question is always, “what are you doing for the Kingdom?” Go out into the arena of ministry God has given you with the same passion, developed skills, and fearlessness that football players do. Our cause is far greater than a ring or a pay raise, it is reaching kids and impacting eternity. So what are you waiting for? Stop analyzing, or go play!
