Archive for September, 2008
5-0, 41-30
I thought Alabama could win. I said Alabama WOULD win. I just didn’t think it was going to be that dominant.
31-0 at half. Bama didn’t have to punt until the 3rd quarter. Never trailed in the game. Haven’t trailed all season.
After the offensive line pushed Georgia down the field to score 7, the defense did their thing. The front 7 kept Moreno in neutral. Yes, there were some pass plays down the field but the trade off was worth it.
Concerns?
Focus…3rd quarter looked awful. I don’t think they had any yards. Saban will chew their tails out for giving up 30 points in the second half, a punt return TD and a blocked punt. He’ll make them watch the 3rd quarter over again.
The Tide rolled.
Favorite Place with Favorite People
Steve Boehm was in town this week for some sort of engineer conference/training. He’s a smart person.
He stayed an extra day because he wanted to go to the mountains.
Here’s what we did…Estes Park.
Estes Park is our family’s favorite summer and fall destination. YMCA of the Rockies has a ton of memories for us as well as we’ve taken youth groups there for years.
As you pull into Estes Park, there is the city park where all the elk hang out. A lot of elk and you can get REALLY close. This was ‘the bull’ of the group. There were over 25 elk around this one tree and this lone buck was the keeper of the family.
As you enter Estes Park, the first thing you notice is this gorgeous hotel overlooking the city. It’s the Stanley Hotel, home of Stephen King when he was writing “The Shining.” The movie in ’76 with Jack Nicholson made it famous but it wasn’t filmed there. The update in the late ’90′s was filmed there.
Steve thought it would be hilarious to have Cooper stand and repeat “red rum”.
It was Homecoming for Estes Park High School. It was your classic hometown homecoming with the parade right through the middle of town. Got to see my first ever Delorean. They also had an old time fire truck (from Beverly Hills) where you had to have a driver for the rear axle.
Then we headed to YMCA of the Rockies, just outside of Estes Park. It is an awesome place for family vacations or just to hang out. We had our yearly YMCA golf game. This year, I lost by 2 strokes to Steve. That dang House Hole killed me.
This is the chapel on the campus with the background of changing aspens. It a couple of weeks, the mountains will explode with golds and reds.
Brianna, junior in high school, went with us. She’s taking a photography class and Cayden was more than willing to model for her.
A family pic that got goofy in moments.
Steve Boehm playing himself.
The lasting image of Estes…
SEC Football Best Ever
This is a ridiculous post. I’m half ashamed to even publish this.
Is there even an argument that there is another conference better in football than the SEC?
(Insert cricket chirping noise here.)
Tide vs. Dogs
Number 3 vs. Number 8
Black vs. White – jerseys that is.
East vs. West
It’s a big game…arguably the biggest so far in the SEC season. (Stow it, Auburn fans. LSU vs. Auburn was sooooo last week.)
Let get all the variables out of the way…
Georgia will be at home, between the hedges with the new UGA sporting those incredibly awesome looking black jerseys. In spite of myself – I love the unis. My only prayer is that it is 110 degrees on Saturday night for all of these are hugely in the favor of the Dawgs.
Alabama will be in the all white unis, highest they’ve been ranked in years with the best team they’ve had in years. None of that really matters except I’m hoping they’ll be sporting the black shoes with the white unis.
But I digress…what this game will ultimately come down to is this – can the Alabama front 7 stop the running game of Georgia. Moreno is a beast and if the Tide have to roll a safety in the box to stop him, the corners will have a long night trying to stop the passing game. It’s not that Georgia’s passing game is awesome. It’s not. It’s lethal and opportunistic. They may only get 150 to 200 yards passing, but it’s when they get those yards that just kills a team.
Alabama’s offense is serviceable and opportunistic as well. They’ll take advantage of field position and turnovers. They’ll grind it out with their backs but it’s not built to run a track meet. Defense has got to show up and play big…
And despite what Clay thinks (ha ha), I think they will.
I originally had ‘Bama dropping this game but that was before what they did to Clemson and Arkansas. Georgia still has the edge on offense and a huge home field advantage. Whatever chance Alabama had to slip in under the radar was gone when this week’s poll was released. Georgia will be UP for this game. Georgia showed up in Tuscaloosa last year and won in overtime.
Here’s hoping ‘Bama can return the favor this year.
The Next 7 Days
I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Here’s what the next 7 days look like for me.
Wednesday, Sep 24 – Pinecrest Youth, John 11
Sunday, Sep 28 – Pinecrest, 2 Services, John 1:35-54
Tuesday, Sep 30 – Oasis, KNCSB Youthworkers, 3 Sessions
Session 1: Seismic Shift In Youth Culture
Session 2: From Director to Sage
Session 3: Soul Care for the Sojourner
Wednesday, Oct 1 – 12th Avenue BC, John 2 (or whatever Danny tells me to teach on)
I’ll post more later on the Oasis deal. I’m amped about it for 3 reasons. First, I’m going to get to see a whole bunch of friends in Emporia, KS that I haven’t seen in years. It sorta feels like returning home, speaking at my first “real youth job” church.
Second, I get to hang out with some of the most incredible youthworkers on the planet.
Third, I get to see my Mom and Dad…and ask to borrow their car.
Actual Conversation at Life Group
So this past weekend was the “Women of Faith” weekend. Amy and a bunch of gals from church went, spent two nights downtown.
That’s the backdrop…
“Did you know that Women of Faith was started by a man?”
G: “No, I didn’t know that.”
“Well that was so surprising to me…I mean… a man!”
G: “Well it’s not that far-fetched if you think about. The conference is in the fall…during football season. He was probably trying to figure out a way to get his wife out of the house so he could have a weekend of uninterrupted football watching.”
Long pause.
“Obviously, I’ve said something wrong.”
34-32, 3-0
Jay Cutler is a stud. He’s going to have a bad game at some point, I realize this. But I wouldn’t take another quarterback over him in the league right now.
I am however taking offers on defenses. Going 3-0 and watching all the offensive fireworks should make all of us in Broncoland happy…but alas, all is not well in Broncoland.
This defense is atrocious. The Saints hung 32 points. Brees is a very good quarterback but they don’t have stud WR’s. Until they played the Broncos. Our linebackers may be the ‘fastest in the NFL’ as every announcer has said this year…but if you can’t tackle or get in the right position all that speed does is put you in a great place to see the opposing teams score touchdowns.
Where do you start? The defensive line is the main culprit. Brees might as well been wearing a tutu. The Saints had 2 reserve offensive lineman in the game and Denver still couldn’t get to Brees. You can’t give any NFL quarterback 5 to 6 seconds to throw and they’ve done it every week. If the first player to get a hand on the RB is a linebacker 5 yards down the field, you’re in trouble.
Next week, we play the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver will win – KC is completely atrocious – but it very well could be another close barnburner. It will be the only time this year that Chiefs will score more than 30 points…and they will lose.
It can’t be the talent level, can it? On paper, the Denver defense looks pretty good. Not Tennessee Titan good but maybe…Colt good? Middle of the pack good? Is Joe Collier available and willing to come back, please?
At any rate, being 3-0 is huge right now for the Broncs given the fall of the Colts and the Pats. Of course, that won’t last the whole season and the Titans look like they could quietly win home field advantage for the year with their defense and running game. Throw in the upstart Bills and the AFC just got very, very interesting.
Tide 4-0
I tried to gently break the news to our Arkansas faithful out there last week. The Tide didn’t break it gently.
I had a friend at the game. He called at kickoff. I called at halftime. He had already left the stadium. He told me thank you for not running up the score. And he was serious.
Here’s what to take out of the game…
Alabama has done this before – started red hot only to go belly up the rest of the season. The meat of their schedule is in front of them, the biggest test this weekend against Georgia between the hedges. Plus Georgia will be sporting their black jerseys – which I think are ridiculously awesome.
But I digress…Alabama didn’t really do anything spectacular against Arkansas except tackle, run back interceptions for touchdowns and run the ball. Their offense isn’t so much a juggernaut as much as it takes advantage of what their defense and special teams do.
Arkansas…I don’t know what to tell you. Keep your head up, it will get better. Hopefully.
My good friend Steve is in town and we were talking about the demise of Arkansas football. Steve said it was like watching a bad dream get worse. Arkansas had a great recruiter in Houston Nutt but he struggled with play calling and managing the clock in the 4th quarter. So you hire guys to do that but
you wonder how much control Nutt really gave up. Besides that, the guy they hired was so in love with his former high school players that he overlooked 2 of the most incredible backs in the nation. Could it have worked? Who knows. The aftermath was brutal – Nutt left, the OC left, the star recruits of a year ago transferred, hired the most hated coach in football, and lost an entire year of recruiting in the wake.
I think they can rebound but they’ll have to do it in spite of their coach. Having been to the campus and knowing a lot of people at Arkansas, it’s an awesome atmosphere. the facilities are outstanding, the campus is warm and inviting. It’s a great place to live and go to school.
Anyways…
This week the Tide face the Bulldogs. I’ll blog later on this and my other random thoughts about SEC football. I’m sure you all wait with baited breath.
The Week with Nana and Poppy
Last week I felt like I was running from one even to the other – didn’t even have time to blog like I normally do. I covered some of our activities…here’s the rest of the week…
Gymnastics
Camber loves this and Nana got to go with her and see her strut her stuff.
Opening Up The New Climbing Wall
We have a climbing wall in your student room. Cool, huh? It’s not so cool if you never use it. So we got that running this week. That’s Cooper being my lab rat. The man got to the top.
Flying W Ranch
If you’ve never been to the Flying W Ranch, you ought to go at least once. It’s not cheap but the food is great, it’s all you can eat and the entertainment is incredible. It’s a place you can take all the kids and they’ll have a blast running around the Cowboy town they’ve got set up there.
Plus, the sell $1 ice cream cones. Can’t beat that.
Buying Your Parents A TV
I think the last time my mom and dad bought a television was during the Reagan administration. Yesterday we went to Buckley AFB in Aurora to look at TVs at the Base Exchange.
Couple things you need to know about BXs or PXs. The prices on stuff is good but you make up for it in other areas…like…sanity.
We pick out the TV, go to pay for it and this is when you begin paying the difference on the price of the TV.
They had a 42″ plasma on sale for half the price you can find anywhere else plus you get a $150 gift card in return. Of course, you can’t use the gift card on the purchase. You can use the gift card on another purchase if you’d like. So buy the TV, get the gift card, then use gift card on all the other stuff you have in your cart that day since…you don’t live in the state. Right?
Cashier in the front didn’t have the authority to authorize a gift card. They did in Customer Service. We go to Customer Service. Pay for TV but then have to go to the next counter (the Cashier) for the gift card.
All of a sudden, I have a sudden desire to speak Croatian…if I knew any.
The Cashier gets a bag with special gift cards in them specifically for the ‘flyer deals.’ I know this because there are stacks and stacks of gift cards in every nook and cranny of the store but he has to go to the back room and look for the special ones. They are just like the ones in the nifty display case in front of me.
Instead of one gift card with $150 on it, we are to get 2 gifts cards, one with $50 and the other with $100. The $50 one will not read. He can’t get it to read. He pages his supervisor. Supervisor doesn’t answer. He calls someone else. No, he can’t get one of the gift cards in front of it and put $150 on it. He has to use these but these don’t work.
He keeps calling and paging. 30 minutes later, his boss shows up. She is “serious.” She doesn’t believe the man and repeats what he’s been doing for 30 minutes.
“You know, John…these $50 cards don’t work.”
We all look at each other…speechless.
“Can you come back tomorrow?”
They live in Kansas. No.
“Well, you can always use your cards online.”
???????? We’re going to use the cards today. We have other shopping.
“They won’t work today, it takes 24 to 48 hours for the cards to activate.”
Let me get this straight…every store that has electricity has the technology to issue a gift card and be used that minute and this store on an Air Force Base can’t do that?
Right.
Eventually we get the General Manager of the store and THIS is where I have to leave the scene because I can’t take the stupidity anymore.
We’ve done this song and dance for over an hour now and the GM walks up, grabs a card, puts $50 on it (we already had the $100) and says – “There you go, you can use this today.”
!@#$#%%$#@Q%@#$!Q@!$@#$R!@#$!@#$RQ
Do they know how much grief that would avoid if they would empower their clerks and cashiers to take care of customers instead of following rules?
So…my parents have a new TV for an incredible deal and I promised to never, ever under any circumstances buy anything from Buckley AFB ever again.
3 Generations At Coors Field
I had 3 Rockies tickets from a game that was rained out earlier this year. Last night, we decided to use them.
At the ticket office, the guy said – “Hey, can you wait a minute? I want to go talk to my manager.”
A few minutes later we were holding tickets 13 rows up from first base. Talk about an upgrade! Coop got 4 autographs before the game – Chris Iannetta being one of them.
Some pics from the game…
Poppy and Coop enjoying batting practice. Yes, those were are actual seats.
Dad snapped this shot as Coop and I were watching BP. Completely unaware, we look like two little boys at a baseball game…which is pretty much what we were. It’s one of my favorite pics.
Here’s a close up shot.
Bases loaded, bottom of 6th. Grand slam for Chris Ianetta.
Things you can get away with on a ball field but nowhere else.
Cooper having a good time.
More Thoughts On Chargers/Broncos
Going For 2
As I said – I didn’t like the call at first. After thinking through it – it was the right choice even if the attempt had failed. Here’s why – it sent a message to the offense – particularly Jay Cutler – that the coaches believe in you. It said with a game on the line, we’re comfortable putting it in his hands to win (or lose).
Second, it sent a message to the defense. It said – you’re not good enough. And they weren’t. Rivers (just like Cutler) went untouched the entire second half.
Blown Calls
Cutler’s fumble was exactly that – a fumble. It was a blown call. No one will argue that. Over the course of a year, there will be more and the Broncos will have their share as well. But the refs didn’t give the Broncos 8 points. Instead of 2nd and goal from the 2, it was 3rd and goal from the 10. After a draw play (??????), it was 4th and goal from the 5. Plus, the 2-point conversion afterwards.
Point is – the Broncs had to capitalize on the opportunity – they did. The Chargers had to respond to adversity – they didn’t. Doesn’t get any simpler than that. The Broncos did, the Chargers defense didn’t.
Earlier in the game, Champ Bailey stole an interception out of the hands of Chris Chambers. In real time, it looked legit. In slow motion – it still looked legit or at the very least an incomplete pass. That call was not a blown call, it was a very close call that went the Broncos way. Another opportunity – step up, execute and capitalize or step up, execute and overcome. Broncos did, Chargers didn’t.
Bottom line, if I were the Chargers, I’d be more focused on the Week 3 opponent than what happened in the past. I’d spend more time looking at defensive film trying to figure out how to stop the 2-minute drill, than worrying about which officiating crew was assigned. Otherwise, they will be looking at 0-3.
Pork…The Other White Meat
Alabama is 3-0, sitting pretty for a great SEC run that starts this weekend with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
I have a large number of Razorback readers. So I will try to be gentle. First step to recovery is acceptance. Let’s look at some facts…
Arkansas 28, Western Illinois 24 – at home. Last minute heroics against a team that they shouldn’t have needed last minute heroics on.
Arkansas 28, Louisiana-Monroe 27 (Little Rock). The theme repeats itself.
This is just not a very good team, with limited offensive weapons. They play hard but they will be outgunned in every SEC match-up this year save the Ole Miss game.
Alabama is a team on the rise, finding itself, figuring out how to finish games. Arkansas is a team trying to figure out how to play for the most despised coach in recent history. (By the way, Alabama fans across the world want to say thank you to Bobby Petrino for taking the attention away from Nick Saban.)
Alabama is looking like a team that given the right bounce or break, could upset LSU or Georgia. Arkansas given the right bounce or break, beat Louisiana-Monroe.
The Piggies have two things going for them. Alabama doesn’t hate Arkansas like they do Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU. So there is a chance that the Tide is overlooking the Hogs. But not likely seeing how pork is the best way to serve BBQ.
Second, the game is in Fayetteville – one of the loudest places in the SEC to play a game. Fans are great, tailgating is awesome and you’ll find plenty of people willing to share their spreads. Traditionally, Alabama field goals and extra points are allergic to the uprights in that stadium. I can’t remember a straight kick from the Tide.
Alabama is a young team and could be prone to lose focus. That was the theme last year. Having said all of that, I think it will be a blow-out. I think the gap between Arkansas and Alabama has widened with the loss of McFadden, Jones, the other transfers and a new coaching staff. I think Petrino’s introduction into SEC football is a harsh one.
Let the smack talk fly…
Fall Confab, 2008
Confab – an informal discussion.
This is what we call our Life Group leader sharpening. A bunch of us sit around the table, we throw out a few questions we are dealing with, then see where it all goes.
Here’s what we unpacked:
What are you most looking forward to this year? (Life Group and/or personally)
What are you most dreading?
What do you think is the biggest obstacle/opportunity for your Life Group this coming year?
How do you physically grow a Life Group to critical mass?
How do you do that without completely messing up the group dynamic?
As usual, my job normally ends with the asking of the questions. There is so much collective wisdom in our leaders. The time screams by as I watch this group of leaders encourage, instruct, listen, and learn from each other.
If you had been there, this is a sample of what you would have heard.
I am the biggest obstacle in our group.
We laughed when he said it but his vulnerability humbled us all when he said that his desire to be in control and ‘get through the lesson’ was at times the biggest obstacle for his own life group. I think we all gulped at the time because it was one of those moments when God teaches through hilarity.
How do you handle people who hardly say anything when you start discussing spiritual matters?
Still waters run deep. It’s okay to ask them questions, it’s also okay to let them NOT answer them. Couple of other leaders spoke of their own spiritual journey. As new adult believers, they didn’t know any of these crazy stories that everyone else seemed to know so they just kept their mouth shut the first few years of following Jesus. Make sure they have a place to talk and engage – socially, one on one, somewhere. Don’t worry about the ‘lesson’ time if they are connecting in other places.
How do you add critical mass to your group?
“Make sure you’ve got something good going on in your group to start with.” Another nugget from one of our leaders. It’s not about adding numbers, it’s about life change. Are we connecting real people with real issues to the real Jesus? Focus on that as a leader, don’t worry about the rest.
Be available, invite people. It sounds ridiculous to say out loud but I’ve got to admit of being lazy at times…just thinking people will show up. A personal invitation is huge.
Great time with our core leaders at the church.
39-38, 2-0
5 Things I Think About The Broncos, Week 2
1. Jay Cutler is a stud.
Ask the first 10 teams of the 2006 draft if they could have a do-over, would they take it – they would and they would draft Cutler. Except the Raiders. They’d draft a corner again. Because Al Davis is a lot of things that can’t be printed here.
But I digress…Cutler had 2 turnovers that could/should have cost the Broncs the game. He overcame that and instead threw two lasers to Eddie Royal for the win.
2. Marshall, Marshall, Marshall.
The only thing keeping this guy from breaking all kinds of records is his own maturity. He’s the real deal.
3. Shanahan’s moxy has returned.
I remember the days when Shanny would call any play from any place on the field on any down. I remember 4th and 1′s and 2′s being attempted at midfield. I thought it was the wrong call to go for 2. Then I heard his explanation after the game – “I didn’t want to rely on the coin flip.” Which is a not-so-subtle hint to the defensive coordinator to not completely unpack. It meant – if the Chargers got the ball, they score.
4. The special teams will cost the Broncos 2 games this year.
As giddy as I am about the offense, the special teams and defense (I’ll get to them later) causes heartburn. It’s a sad commentary when your starting corner and tight end have to play on kickoff coverage AND they still gave up a TD. Sloppy, sloppy, play.
5. The Broncos defense will cost them at least 3 games. Maybe more.
If Karl Paymah is the answer to a team with as many weapons as the Chargers (see Colts, Patriots), the Broncs are in deep weeds. Chris Chambers completely abused the 3rd and 4th DB’s. Sproiles ran through the gut of this defense like it was practice. Our safeties were NOWHERE to be found on deep plays.
Bailey got beat on a long pass to Chambers today. First time in two years I’ve seen that. Then I saw from a wide angle shot what our team has asked Champ to do – cover half the field. It made things worse for me. How bad are the other 10 guys if Champ is already covering half the field? Most teams would die for that kind of corner. Put Champ on the Titans or Pittsburgh defense and you’ve just created a defense that could compete with the ’85 Bears.
Free advice for the DC – keep the rental, don’t buy.
Overall, 2-0 is awesome. Wins over division opponents are precious. Winning the AFC west, while a long way off, now looks like it is in the realm of possible.
Other random NFL thoughts:
Yes, it was a fumble. Yes, the Chargers should have gotten the ball. They didn’t. Broncos took advantage of it. Chargers didn’t.
Somebody please explain to me how Marvin Lewis still has a job.
The Vikings and Chargers are two franchises I would not want to play next week.
Someone ought to tell Herm Edwards that if he would run the ball more than 12 times a game, he’d probably wouldn’t be 0-2 and playing with his 3rd string quarterback.
How scary is Carolina going to be WITH Steve Smith?
Memo to Bears: you have the same need you’ve had for 3 years and done nothing about. Get a QB.
Lane Kiffin – love the honesty, I even think you’ll one day be a great NFL coach. But none of us feel sorry for you because you accepted the job and Al Davis hasn’t changed in 79 years. None of the drama is surprising.
What’s with all the ex-Raiders being broadcasters? Are networks that desperate?
Link Love
Chris Ediger gave me some link love on his ‘new site.’
As Chris said – we’ve known each other a LONG time. We were both no-name youth pastors in small Kansas towns. He’s now a big stud working for famous people. 
Reading his post I was reminded I still haven’t set up a links/blogs I read page. Need to get that done this week.
Praying For Tapestry
Tapestry is the dreamchild of my friend Robert. Actually, he’d tell you it’s God’s dream that has consumed him for the past 3 years. It’s a church plant in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
So I’ve been praying for Robert and Pam this week. Would you do the same? In fact – go hit Robert’s blog and tell him that you’re praying for him this week.
Pam emailed me last week to remind me of the first time we all met face to face. It was in Little Rock, AR. Robert was supposed to preach at our church that weekend when the mother of all snow/ice storms hit the town. We ended up not having services but instead we all went out to eat at a Japanese steak house that night – the kind they cook in front of you.
The following conversation happened between Pam and my daughter Camber:
Camber: (talking about our Japanese chef) Is he Spanish?
Me: No, he’s Japanese.
Camber: Do you understand what he’s saying? (he had an accent and a soft
voice)
Me: Yeah, he just told us what kind of sauce he was giving us.
Camber: Wow! You understand Japanese?
Me: No, he’s speaking English.
Camber: Oh (looking at me like I’m crazy—he “sounds†like he’s
speaking Japanese)
Father God,
I know there are a lot of churches that will meet this coming weekend and most of us will be so focused on our own ‘show’ that we won’t think twice about our brothers and sisters that worship elsewhere. I’m guilty of it most weekends. I’d like to change that starting with Tapestry. This weekend will be their first service. It’s one of many and I know that the ‘service’ isn’t the church but still…would You make it special for them? Doesn’t have to be grand or large…just a whisper to their heart, a confirmation of the 3 years of dreaming, crying, moving, laughing, and sweating. Will You guard the Terrell’s heart from discouragement…give them favor in their endeavor to connect real broken people of Stevens Point to the real You…keep the team focused and united but more importantly than that, keep them laughing. Would You show them where You are already at work?
Amen.
Drugged Out
For months I had this nagging, hack cough. I finally caved in and went to the doctor… a new doctor. I talked about that experience here. (For which I received so much sympathy…thank you, really…no, I meant it.)
Any rate – his prognosis worked. No cough. At least when I remember to take my medicine – Zyrtec. That’s right – my allergy medicine.
Here’s the problem I’m running into. I’m supposed to take it at night but when I do – it does something to my system to keep my awake for the next few hours. Last night – up till 3 am. Just lying there.
This morning…I’m walking around like I’m hung over – at least that’s what I think hung over would feel like according to all the in depth reports I got from Wayne. Normally, it’s not that extreme but if I’ve had any caffeine after lunch AND take a Zyrtec – that will do it. The only thing I can figure out is the cup of iced tea I had last night.
Off to find something meaningful to keep me awake.
41-14
Dear Raider Nation,
It’s been a long time coming but it’s time to tell you the truth. You have a terrible football team. And Al Davis has secretly been the model and voice for that old guy that Pixar uses in all their short films. You know the one I’m talking about? He plays chess with himself, he cleans toys. Do you even know what Pixar is?
But that’s not important right now. As much as I hate you – this is getting ridiculous. A below average Bronco defense had you shut out until the last 6 minutes of the game. A second-round pick made your all-pro corner look like he belonged on Dancing With The Stars. Cutler didn’t even take a shower after the game. How does a quarterback wearing all white playing on a dirt field leave the game nary a smudge mark on him?
Beating you used to mean something. When Tom Jackson screamed at John Madden “Not tonight, Fatty!”, it was inspiring because we knew we were beating the “Greatness of the Raiders.” It used to be that no one left the Black Hole unscathed. Now, they start breaking out calculators to figure out yardage and score possibilities. There were Bronco fans wearing Bronco gear in the stadium last night… excuse me, that was Eddie Royal. He just scored again.
As far as your future? There’s not one. That light is a train. I’m just being honest with you – denial is a normal part of the grieving process so the quicker you get over this, the better off you’ll all be.
You’ve had 19 wins total since 2002. That makes you the Northwestern of professional football except with a police blotter.
So suck it up and take this like a man. Your team is awful. Your owner is awful. Your stadium is awful. Your city is awful.
BUT…you do have a bunch of cool lightsabers.
Hide The Women and Children
What the Broncos will do to the Raiders tonight can only be described as brutal and not suitable for children.
The only chance the Raiders have is if Chuck Norris runs out of the tunnel with them.
In fact, the Broncos will have to hurry off the field as soon as the game is over, otherwise they will be in danger of getting sucked into the Bay as part of the aftershocks.
Go Broncos.
Cooper’s Game
I thought the fall was supposed to be slower than the summer?
Saturday was Cooper’s 2nd flag football game of the season. He played quarterback last year and this year he still playing a lot at quarterback but he’s actually getting much better at safety. I’m sure part of that is he has a much better coach this year.
Anyway…here are some unbiased opinions of Cooper’s football skills.
What he lacks in speed, he more than makes up for in intelligence, determination, and just flat out grit.
He threw two interceptions on offense. One of them was a hail mary pass that acted like a punt, the other one on an extra point try. But…as a parent, I was wondering how he would handle having a bad game. Would he tank? Turns out I shouldn’t have worried. He turned around and got both of them back on defense. Playing safety, he took one pick back to the house and the other one I still don’t know how he caught. It was a tipped ball, looked like a punt and was heading to the ground when Coop dove and somehow came up with the ball.
They won again (2-0) but what is cool about this team (and it’s a credit to the coach) they are focused on learning their jobs and doing the best they can. As a result of that, we saw one of our kids that normally doesn’t get a lot of attention get an interception. On offense, he had a running play that he took for 50 yards, so close to getting a touchdown.
There was a semi-tense moment during the 4th quarter. We were fairly dominant in the game and the other coach started really complaining but the truth of the matter was it was his fault. His team was unorganized and he kept harping on them and they kept sinking worse and worse.
Our team didn’t let up. We just kept scoring and driving. After the game, I heard the other coach kinda talking to their parents about how we should have let up.
I didn’t say anything but I am glad our coach didn’t let up. I’ve been on the other end – getting your brains beat out. You learn alot about yourself and your team in those moments. Who gives up early? Who keeps playing? How are you going to handle being humiliated? Are you going to quit or learn from it? Who shows up and practices the next week? You don’t like getting shut out, you don’t like being the practice squad for the other team but you can learn some things there.
The flip side is this – every time you come on the field no matter what the situation, you do your best. Don’t turn it down a notch, don’t short change your effort. Every play, every down – all out, do your best. If the final score is 45-0, good for you. If it’s 0-45, still hold your head up because you gave all out effort the whole game. Those lessons translated to the adult realm for me – 10 students to 100 students – every time you teach, do your best. Give your best no matter if it’s 3 or 300.
Our coach and I were talking after the game and he said when he coached high school, he repeated the phrase – “Take a beating, give a beating” to his teams all the time. His first year he went 2-7, lost a lot of games by double digits. He told his team – “Take the beating like a man. Learn from it. Grow from it. One day, we are going to be on the other side and we’re going to give the beating. We won’t back down. No matter who I play, I want all out effort, every play, every down.” Next year, he delivered the beatings.
But I like the fact he didn’t back the team down once we were up big. It’s a great principle – you do your best no matter if your up or down, close or far. We don’t do it to humiliate the other team. We don’t flaunt it or get arrogant – you do it because to do less would be disrespectful to the game.
Lots that we can apply to our spiritual life from that.
Cayden is 6
What a day/weekend. Cayden is now a big girl at 6. Party started last night at Red Robin. The Davidson’s met us for some awesome burgers and a loud dinner!!!
We headed home and enjoyed Amy’s “Flower Cake” creation.
Cayden made quite the haul on the birthday this year thanks to all the grandparents. A Nintendo DS, purses, makeup, Gigi doll, videos, and I’m sure there is some Auburn C R A P in the mail as well.
Now, if I can only keep her at this age…forever.
Life Group Guide for John
A Life Group Guide for John is what I’m trying to finish in the next week. This is a sample of what it will look like.
What I need is for some of you readers to look at it and critique it, maybe even add some questions of your own to it.
I also need some focus because…I’ve got to get to John 9 by next Thursday.
Mini Disaster
Somehow, someway I have just lost every single email address in Thunderbird.
What I was going to do today just got changed.
UPDATE: I rebooted and they all came back….???? Weird but I am going to backup all of them just to be safe.