The Gifts We Are Sometimes Too Blind To See

The setting: My room
The time: 11:15 p.m.
The t.v. station: ESPN
The program: The 2008 ESPY Awards
The story:

I love sports. Especially football. Everyday I read and watch something pertaining to football, most importantly my New Orleans Saints. So needless to say my television is never far away from ESPN. Every year they have the ESPY awards which is basically the best of sports from the previous year. Normally I don't watch them b/c award shows have become so dull lately and alot of the winners are either undeserving or too shallow to root for. But as I turn them on this evening, I notice that Justin Timberlake is the presenter. So, immediately, I am hooked. I love JT. To me, he is a wonderful entertainer. Sings well, dances well, very funny, very polished, just an all around grade A talent. As the show starts he has me rolling. He is roasting sports stars and having a good time. A few awards are presented and I start to notice something different. Something amazing. This award show is fantastic. The production value behind this ceremony is honestly like no other I have ever seen. The skits they perform, the nominee presentations, the fast paced action is really quite astonishing. Then comes the big Timberlake song and dance. I watched it 5 times in a row. Didn't even continue with the awards....just rewound it over and over again. As a performer I just eat this stuff up. Seeing things, watching things that I want to do. That I wish I could do. The dreamer in me starts to wake up.

But then, everything changed. My selfish, I wanna be on that stage thoughts went away. I saw something that I promise you I will never forget. You see, sports isn't just big men sweating and beating up other people. It's a passion. It's a desire to be number 1. It's a journey to push yourself to places that you didn't know you could go. And for that reason alone, I love sports. The team atmosphere. The daily grind of sacrificing yourself for something bigger. The opportunity to show that the strongest muscle will always be your heart.

Moment #1 A special award for perseverance. The recipient: Kevin Everett
Mr. Everett was a member of the Buffalo Bills. Last September he tackled an
open field runner on a special teams play and immediately hit the ground. You
could see his body twitch but nothing else. He was paralyzed. His neck was
broken and his spine damaged so much that even after an emergency 4 hour
surgery, his doctors said he wouldn't walk again. After his story was told at
the ESPY's and his named was called guess who walked onstage to accept his
award........Kevin Everett. Now I knew all about this story and knew that he
could walk again but to see it in that context was awesome. I love the human
spirit and watching people overcome obstacles that have been place in front of
them.

Moment #2 The big one. I will never forget this as long I live and this story
just fills me up with hope and love and desire and passion. And it makes me
think on so many levels. The ESPY award for Best Moment in Sports. And you
could make a case for all of these: a major league pitcher beating CANCER and
then coming back to pitch a no hitter. WHAT? No way.... Danica Patrick
winning her first race. Amazing. And the story of 3 softball players who
remind us what not only sports, but life in general is all about. I am going
post this video and I want you to watch it before you read any further. It's
about 6 minutes long but truly worth it.




After watching that my mind and heart are honestly at ease. It makes me think so many things. First of all, these girls won the ESPY. But they didn't do what they did for any awards. Heck, they probably didn't even know they were being filmed. In the world today where every sport is being scrutinized and players are doing whatever they can to get ahead, this was such an amazing story! But to me, it goes far beyond sports. It's about life. We should all be like these girls. If one of us falls down, we should pick each other up. I can't help but think about the theatre and how there are so many politics and so many brats and divas and personal affairs and so forth. SO WHAT?!! When are we gonna band together and support one another for something that is bigger than us?

I really wish I was better as conveying the emotion that I am feeling right now. It's not coming out like I wanted it to but I still feel it's strength flowing through me. The clip was during a sporting event and I've compared it to the theatre but there is one other thing that it reminds me of. I can't help but feel that whenever we fall down that God and Jesus are there to pick us and show us the way "home." Even if we are playing for the wrong team at the time. They don't care. And I wanna be like that. Unselfish. Giving. Caring. Helpful. Humble. Christlike. Those girls said they carried her around the bases because she hit the home run and she deserved it. And they ended up losing the game!!! And that's the message that my heart holds onto. It's not if you win or lose, it's how you play the game.