I’ve come to grips with the stereotype that everyone in the South loves college football. The Vols, the Bulldogs, the Rebels, the Gamecocks, the Tigers, the Commodores (okay, not the Commodores), and so on. It’s more than just love, though, isn’t it? I was visiting a church a few Sundays ago and the pastor opened with a joke about football. “I love this time of the year,” he said. “All three major sports are happening at once: high school football, college football, and professional football.”
Well, fine. Like I said, I’ve accepted this for what it is. However, I personally do not subscribe to it. I’m a fan of baseball, and watching playoff baseball all day long the past two days has been tough to beat. It’s not that I hate football; in fact, I follow the Titans and rarely miss a game. But college football, I can do without. Except for that occasional big, both-teams-ranked-on-Saturday-night game, I won’t watch it. 
This was not always the case. Like most young boys growing up in Tennessee, I was suckered into loving the Tennessee Volunteers. This was an easy thing to suckered into, you see. There was Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, Leonard Little, Al Wilson, and, of course, the Great Peyton Manning. In November of 1998, the year after Peyton graduated, the Vols were undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. The Arkansas Razorbacks were also undefeated and ranked #10 in the nation. They met up in week 9 in Knoxville.
I only remember the last 1 minute and 47 seconds of the game. Arkansas was up 24-21, with the ball, at the 50 yard line. They could run out most of the clock, and one first down would end the game. I was 12, and the Vols meant everything. There was only one thing I could do. At the two minute mark, I went upstairs and prayed. “God… if there is a God… if you’re a man or a woman… if you’re listening, I’d really, really like a family. My dad says that will only happen if the Angels win the pennant. The baseball team, I mean. So, maybe you can help them win a little. Amen. Oh, A-woman, too.”
Wait. That’s not right1. Here’s probably what I really said: “God, somehow, someway, give the Vols the ball back so they can win the game.” Thirteen seconds later,this happened. (for those that don’t want to click on the video, here’s the NBC play by play guy: “HE LOST THE FOOTBALLLL!! OH MY GOODNESS! HE STUMBLED AND FUMBLED!”). The Vols won the game, and went on to win the national championship.
Now, did God care about the final score of that game? Certainly not. Did he care if Tony Danza threw a strike
to the huge white guy with jailhouse tats on his arms, more formally known as Kit ‘Hit or Die’ Kesey, in Angels in the Outfield? I’d have to say no. Because, what about those poor, 12-year-old Arkansas fans that prayed for their team to run out the clock? Or Kit ‘Hit or Die’ Kesey, that probably prayed to hit a homerun?
But, does God use all things for good? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” He sure does. And after that game, at 12-years-old, I knew God was alive and real.
It’s one of the biggest reasons non-believers have trouble, well, believing. “How could God do this?” In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. I witnessed the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters in history, and I witnessed non-believers ask, “How could God do this?” And when I saw the beginning of Haiti’s transformation, with hundreds of thousands of Haitians – including a few, unwanted Haitian kids at the RENMEN orphanage – I witnessed God work for the good of those who love Him.
I hadn’t thought about that Tennessee-Arkansas game in a long time. Until one of my best friends told me how he was supporting me on The World Race. Along with being a med school student, he also purchases Atlanta Braves season tic
kets and sells them for a profit. I don’t think he would appreciate the term scalper, so we won’t call him that. Anyway, he has several postseason tickets to each Braves game, and told me yesterday that the money he makes on the Braves playoff tickets will go to my World Race fund.
This is awesome in a variety of ways. First, I am several thousand dollars below where I’m supposed to be at this point in my support raising, so anybody new that partners with me is an amazing blessing. Second, it’s always great to be supported by your close friends, especially something that is as important to me as this is. Third, as I said, he’s in med school. Med school is expensive. Those Braves tickets could go a long ways in paying off the bills that he’ll be paying off for the next 200 years. And fourth, this gives me yet another reason to watch baseball and cheer on a team that I normally wouldn’t (sorry, Gainesville folks, love them Yankees). Because, (here’s the catch) if the Braves lose in the first round, I’ll get the profit from two games max. BUT, if the Braves get to the World Series… Well, that’s a lot of games, and a lot of support raising.
Which brings me all the way back around to my original question. Does God care if the Braves win the World Series. No. Is he going to send ‘Doc Brown’ from Back to the Future2 to Earth as an angel to help Chipper get healthy again and hit a few homeruns3? Well, I’m not ruling it out, but no. Win or lose, will he work for the good of those who love Him? And will He provide the $15,000 I need to go on the World Race, and the $1,000 I need to go to the World Race camp in a week? Absolutely.
I’m believing to be fully supported by the time I leave for the World Race in January. Before that, I have to have at least $1,000 in my World Race account to attend camp on October 16th – a camp that must be attended in or
der to go on the race. I need you to prayerfully consider partnering with me financially, and if it’s on your heart to join me with this amazing trip, click here, or contact me so I can discuss with you the calling I had to join The World Race.
I’m so thankful for the encouragement, prayers, and financial support I’ve received so far. GO BRAVES!!
1 Angels In the Outfield is, by all accounts, a truly fascinating film. Known as ‘Angels’ in some countries, it features performances from Danny Glover, Adrien Brody, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Matthew McConaughey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Brenda Fricker (aka Pigeon Lady from Home Alone 2). We’re talking about one of the biggest casts since Pulp Fiction. And half of them hadn’t even been discovered yet. As of right now, the cast has 2 Academy Awards, 7 Emmy’s, 5 Golden Globes, 2 Independent Spirit Awards, a National Society of Film Critics Award, and about a dozen orange blimps from McConaughey.
2 Speaking of Back to the Future, here’s a blog post about Back to the Future by one of my dear friends, Tiffany Berkowitz. She’s a great writer, and is currently changing lives through Asia and through her World Race squad that she’s leading.
3 Vince Young has angels with him always.
