Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts

Monday, February 02, 2009

Winning in Life

What a Super Bowl! Two years in a row we've had fantastic finishes. Last night the Arizona Cardinals seemed to have won the gave when Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald for the go ahead score with about 2 1/2 minutes to play. But Ben Roethlisberger led the Pittsburgh Steelers down the field and hit Santonio Holmes for an amazing catch in the corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left to win the game.

While all of the drama was great and there were some tremendous story lines, I wanted to share something with you that I received last week. It is a very touching story about one of the players in this game:

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us."

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.

Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities - just like her first husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary - - he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he is not an ordinary person.


It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He has also been the NFL's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Though he did not win the game last night, in the game of life, Kurt Warner is definitely a winner!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Tony Dungy Comments


I don't know if you saw this or not, but immediately after the Super Bowl, Jim Nantz from CBS was asking Tony about the significance of the fact that he was the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl. Below are his comments:


Jim Nantz of CBS Sports: This is one of those moments, Tony, where there is also social significance in this victory, and to have your hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Tell me what this means to you right now.


Tony Dungy: I'll tell you what. I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this. It means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything, I've said it before, Lovie Smith and I, not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way. And we're more proud of that.


How cool is that? He is a leader I would want to follow!

Monday, February 05, 2007

Get Off His Back!


In an article on ESPN's site, one writer says that Rex Grossman, the much maligned quarterback for the Chicago Bears should have been named as Co-MVP of last night's Super Bowl because of his lackluster performance.

This type of writing drives me crazy!

Here is a quarterback who won 15 games as a starter. He plays arguably the toughest position on the field. This is his first full year as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

I am not a Chicago Bears fan. In fact, I was very please the Colts won. However, when a sportswriter who may have never played a down of football writes this sort of thing it makes me angry.

The same was true with Peyton Manning prior to his team's win last night. He was billed as "the next great quarterback to never win the big one."

What a bunch of hogwash!

These two quarterbacks are at the top of their profession. The fact is there are 30 other starting quarterbacks in the NFL who wish they had played in the game.

Peyton Manning was talked about as the guy who could not win the big one because he is a great player. Rex Grossman is being criticized today because he is at the top of his game also.

Even though this type of talk does not sit well with me, the fact is that when anyone reaches the top of their game, criticism will follow. Even in our jobs and in our spiritual lives.

Are you being criticized in any way? If not, are you doing the best you can?