Discussions

So I’ve got this friend, he’s a great friend and he’s usually full of really good advice. We aren’t very much alike in some respects but in other respects we are very much alike. Therefore, our friendship is very beneficial as we sharpen each other in areas that we wouldn’t normally be sharpened. Well, his latest suggestion was that I look into running. Apparently running has really dispensed a lot of grace into his life. Who would have thought that hard work would dispense so much grace?

With that in mind, I have decided to give my best shot at running. Starting today I will run 1 mile and then try to run at least 1.5 miles by the end of the week. The air quality is really bad in Turlock, in fact, I only breath through my right nostril. I have this condition which many people have called “a deviated septum.” It sounds like a really bad calculus problem. This condition might hinder my running abilities but I’m whipping ahead anyway. We’ll see what kind of grace running dispenses into my life. Maybe it will give me a chance to think about things I wouldn’t normally think about? Maybe it will give me a time to drown in my IPOD. Lately I have been feeling tired quite a bit and yawning too much. Hopefully this will help to overcome that. I will post an update after I’ve made progress. If I end quitting then I will post a blog confessing my weakness.

This video can almost get me in tears every time I see it.

Or maybe there is something right with me? Maybe the New Orleans Saints point to their maker, their creator. The Creator of all things who himself is likened to a CHAMPION.

Psalm 19: 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ……………5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

A CHAMPION. A CHAMPION.

In lieu of the New Orleans Saints 1st Super Bowl appearance, I felt it necessary to share some of my fondest memories as a Saints fan.  I must admit that being a Saints fan, as insignificant as it is, has been an awesome experience.  I understand that for many, football might seem immature and overrated, but for me it has been an escape from a busy world. Enjoy.

There have been some VERY difficult times, especially in my younger years,  friends couldn’t imagine why I would choose the Saints.  The Saints had one of the most ferocious defenses but could never overcome the 49ers of the 80′s or the Cowboys of the 90′s.  Greats like; Sam Mills, Pat Swilling and Ricky Jackson have long since been forgotten because of the more star powered teams with the Montana’s and the Aikman’s.  I grew up having to defend the Saints year in and year out.  Always having to explain why “next year” would be different.   They were the forgotten franchise and before the 80′s they were known as the “aints” as in the Saints aint winning.  In the last 10 years they have gotten things moving in the right direction but still with frustration and confusion every step of the way.   I watched the Saints trade away their entire draft for Ricky Williams, the so-called savior of the Saints.  Ricky ended up getting traded away and a few years later, he totally shined for the Dolphins.  I watched Jake Delhomme sit on the bench while an injured Aaron Brooks gave his all in a losing effort.  One season, the Saints had Aaron Brooks, Jake Delhomme and Marc Bulger on the bench.  The Saints let Delhomme and Bulger go and they both had greater success on other teams.   I remember when Kyle Turley ripped off a Jets player helmet and tossed across the stadium.  I watched the River City Relay live, and for those who don’t know, it was when the Saints scored a 80 yard touchdown with 6 seconds left on the clock only to miss the extra point and get eliminated from the playoffs.  I watched the Saints get eliminated from the playoff  contention because of a botched reverse that should have never been called in the first place.  I drove 8 hours to San Diego only to watch Aaron Brooks throw a backwards pass and the Saints get pummeled  17-43 against the Chargers.  The people in my section were so frustrated that they started cheering for beer instead of the Saints.  I once drove to New Orleans from Dallas to watch the streaking 4-4 Saints LOSE to the 0-8 Rams.  TERRIBLE.  In 2006 I moved to Dallas, TX for seminary and that was the year that the Saints made the NFC Championship.   The first year of seminary was lonely because I was in a new environment where I hardly knew anyone but the Saints were a familiar solace.  Many thought the Saints were going to leave New Orleans after hurricane Katrina but instead they came back better then ever.  I went to the reopening of the Super Dome for the  Monday Night Football game against the Falcons.  U2 and Green Day opened the game with “The Saints Are Coming”.  I’ll never forget that surreal feeling that I experienced at the stadium knowing how much it meant for the city and the people in attendance.  I am not a native of New Orleans or even close to it but I could still relate to the sense of rebirth that the people felt.  We all redemption and rebirth.

While watching football has been a great experience, it pails in comparison to the times of had with the people I’ve watched the Saints with.  I wish I had more pictures of some of my good football friends but here are just a few of my fondest memories as a Saints fan.  WHO DAT!

My favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints have started out the season strong and now have the best record in football at 7-0. They beat all the best teams and are THE team to beat in the NFC. There is this impulse in me to brag about them and hold it over peoples heads that my football team is better then theirs.

What people don’t realize is that I grew up during a time in which the Saints were the cellar dwellars of the NFL. Well actually it is worse then that because while they weren’t the absolute worst team, they were in a division with the absolute best team. The Saints of the 1990′s once went 12-4 and made the playoffs only by the wild-card. The wild-card! That was because the 14-2 49ers won the division. This was the plight of many Saints fans for a long long time. As good as we did we could never overcome the evil 49ers or Dallas Cowboys. I grew up in the heart of the Central Valley and so all through out grade school, jr. high, and high school I heard a lot of trash talking from 49er fans. Year after year they would just pour it on about how good their team was and how bad my team stunk.  (For a boy in his teens this can be quite damaging.)

So here we are about 15 years later and MY MY how the tables have turned. My team looks to be the dominator while the 49ers are the new cellar dwellars.
So a few days ago a friend of mine tells me to remain humble during these times. For some reason that statement really hit home. It reminded me of a line in Victor Frankl’s book about “Man in Search of Meaning”. I wish I had the book in front of me but it is in storage somewhere so please forgive me for misquotes. But the book is about his experiences in Jewish concentration camps and the Psychology he developed from his experiences. It is a fabulous book but the one story that I always remember is when he talked about a man who had been freed from the camp.  This man then happened to cross paths with one of the guards who once held him captive.  The former prisoner then beat the guard and began to treat him as he used to be treated.   What was surprising to me was that you would think that this former prisoner would have learned the cruelty in treating people that way but he hadn’t. As soon as he was released from the camp he then went on to treat others badly as some sort of revenge. There is something in the human impulse that aches for revenge. But revenge doesn’t feel good. Revenge doesn’t satisfy, especially if you are the one heaping on the revenge. Romans 12:19 says “Do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” says the Lord.

So the moral of this blog is that staying humble is really important. Now that the Saints are on this hot streak I should simply enjoy it not because it gives me bragging rights but because they are a fun team to watch. Sure there is room to brag perhaps after they win the Super Bowl. Then I can celebrate and be proud of my team for all their hard work. But if I celebrate now there will be no celebration left for the big day! Let’s hope there is a big day. The Saints have been known to surprise you. Nobody saw them winning this much and now nobody sees them losing in the future but if they remain humble and don’t get ahead of themselves then anything is possible.

Alright for the longest time I was very critical of Reggie Bush. I felt he didn’t live up to the hype and thus far he has had an injury plagued NFL career. Sure he was great at USC but the NFL, like my friend Shane says, is a “what have you done for me lately league?” or NFL = “Not For Long”. Because he hasn’t had the kind of success he or anyone else expected I began to be a naysayer. But something clicked for me today. Reggie is going to get a lot more heat because of the hype and also because he is an uncategorizable player. The best description I’ve heard for Reggie as a player came when a Fox commentator referred to him as “the matchup nightmare.”  Reggie is shifty and doesn’t hit the hole as well as a pure running back would, he dances around rather then running right through.  He isn’t a pure running back and at the same time he isn’t a pure wide-receiver.

When players and fans vote for pro-bowl players they select players from specific categories QB, RB, TE, ect.  But if  you’re a utility player like Reggie and you play 4 different positions.  The NFL’s balloting system doesn’t account for a guy like Reggie. This is a big reason why he probably won’t make the pro-bowl as many times as other players whose position is set.

This doesn’t mean they are better ALL AROUND players then him, it simply means that they are better at there given position. Reggie has never fit the mold of ONE position. He’s diversified his portfolio. He can return punts, run, catch, block, and has even been used to throw the ball, although his first ever throw was an interception. Teams don’t know whether they should cover him with a linebacker or a cornerback? He demands that kind of attention and can take the ball to the house on any given play.

Here I am about to finish seminary. Everyone wants to categorize me, conservative, liberal, Assyrian, American, silly, strict, warm, cold, selifish, giving, self-centered, other centered, confident, insecure, rich, poor, oh the list goes on and on. I don’t fit the categories soceity has for a guy like me graduating seminary. In fact I have a hard time identifying myself sometimes. So now I feel Reggie’s pain. I’ve had some tough breaks as well but I tell you what. When Reggie is 100% healed, he will be a force to be reckoned with and when I’ve got my head on straight. I will be a force to be reckoned with! Who dat!

The emotions of life can be summed up in three successions. Easy-going, nervous floundering and sudden recourse. Easy-going is when you’re comfortable. Gratitude abounds. Contentment resides. Nervous floundering happens when things don’t sync up. The world you construed is a false allusion that has left you clutching your fists. So you try to grab whatever you can on the way down. Then suddenly you are surprised by sudden recourse. Before you know it you’re back on track. A Beatles song “Watchin the skirt you start to flirt, now you’re in gear.”

All three of these emotions are found in a good football game. The game starts and the team is comfortable driving in an Easy-going position. Suddenly there is a fumble, interception or a major injury. The crowd panics, momentum shifts but what happens next? Pick six, fumble recovery the other way for a touchdown and a sudden recourse! Yeah. That’s why we love football. It is an outward expression of inward emotion we endure. We all love sudden recourse. A turnover gets our team good field position and that momentum.

Teams enjoy being in Easy-going and sudden recourse mode but absolutely despise nervous floundering. Nobody likes to experience nervous floundering. In fact our first mode of thought is to flee nervous floundering. But what if nervous floundering is something we’ve got to learn to accept. We’re not always going to be on top. Things aren’t always going to sync up or be easy-going. Without death there is no resurrection? We’ve got to figure out healthy ways of making it through nervous floundering. Step one is confession. Step two is full vent. Step three is patience. Thoughts? For more info check Walter Brueggemann’s book on praying the Psalms.

Sometimes the tension builds and builds and while we can only keep it inside for so long, there just needs to be a time of venting.  Full-blown venting.  Since this website is suppose to be family friendly, I will hold back just a bit.

I had huge expectations for the Saints.  We drafted a stud Defensive tackle (which was one of weaknesses), we traded for one of the best middle linebackers in the league, we gave away multiple draft picks for one of the best tight-ends in the game, we picked up a good corner to give us depth and also a speedy defensive end to give us the pass rush we so desperately needed.  Did I mention we drafted a corner in the 2nd round?

When your team is that talented, you have arguably the best quarterback in the league, you expect to win don’t you?  Well….not when you’re a Saints fan.  I was huddled at the Sports bar today with 8 other Saints fans and we were all excited about the big game.  It’s good to be a Saints fan because you know you’re a die-hard.  Nobody chooses to support a team like the Saints.  It just happens to you.  We’ve had a handful of winning seasons in our 30 year history, 3 playoff victories and no Superbowl.  Things just don’t seem to go our way.  The refs are always against us, our kickers seem to miss game winning kicks, and our play-calling is bipolar.  I’m just not sure anymore.  We are 6-6.  500 mediocre team.  We’re not the dominant force I thought we would be.  Somethings gotta give.

Any thoughts?

I have some bad news.  Hollis Thomas the starting defensive tackle for the Saints tore his tricep today.  He may be out for the season or he may return in two months.  Here is the source.  http://www.wdsu.com/news/17190435/detail.html

Watch this video and see how one person responded when they heard the news.