On Tim Tebow

Dear Christians-who-love-sports:


Tim Tebow does not "deserve" to be starting.


I know, I'm a heathen, aren't I?


Lemme esplain.

I have seen status after status the past five weeks bemoaning the fact that Tebow hasn't gotten to play or start. And just about everyone insists that it MUST be because he's a Christian.

I have a startling theory to share with you.

Maybe, just maybe, he hasn't started til now because...he isn't that awesome at the game of professional football.


I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.


There are many Christians in the NFL. Tebow is not the only one. There are also many backups in the NFL. And many of them work just as hard as Tebow.

I have nothing against Tim Tebow. I think he's a great guy who loves the Lord and happens to pay football. I'm just severely annoyed with people who think he "deseveres" to play and to start because he's a Christian. That really isn't related to football. It's a game. He isn't the only one that plays it.

P.S. I've even been backed up by a prof on this. He says Tebow is inconsistent and unready for the pros.

Overgeneralization...

...it's one of those errors that we talked about in Critical Thinking. Not that I was listening. Overly. I was too busy freaking out the guy next to me. That happens a lot. Not my lack of listening, but my freaking people out. It's a gift. Or a curse, however you want to look at it. I'm just overwhelming.

Aaanyways, I have come to a realization. Athlete's are people too. That sounds terrible, but lemme 'splain. When I came to school I was told over and over, "Stay away from the athletes. Never date an athlete. They're only here for one thing. They don't care about anything but sports."

Surprise! It's not true! Over the past eight months I have encountered variaties of people. And some of the nerdy, normal, and boring people are much worse than some of the athletes. There are some in every crowd. But the more I've gotten to know people, the more I've lost sight of stereotypes. Some of the biggest God-lovers I know are big, buff football players. They have so much more knowledge and insight than most other people I know. It's quite awesome.

I had more, but I got distracted by Land Before Time. Sooo...yeah. Ciao!

Read and React

I love alliteration. I was told that titles should always be capitalized. There you have it. Last week stunk. In just about every way, shape, and form. I honestly spent just about the whole time wallowing in the depths of dispair. I also contemplated quitting my major and becoming a librarian? Why? Because surely even I could handle a job like that. On second thought, I'd probably just catch the library on fire. I KNEW I should have just become an NFL referee. Speaking of which, boys like you a whole lot more when you agree to play Fantasy Football with them. Just saying. They probably won't like me as much once I start beating them. Assuming that there's a season this year. :( Ok, that was waaay off topic. All this to say that once I actually stopped to pray about the project I was working on (redoing for the fourth time, actually) it went fairly well. And I felt a whole lot better about myself and my life. But why didn't I do that in the first place? Because I had never had problems with this before. Because it had never been a big deal. Because I thought I was awesome and could handle it. Because I didn't think God would really be that interested in my temporary, stressed-out, college student problems. Then I was reminded, I'm kind of supposed to talk to Him about this stuff all the time. Because He does care, and He does have time. He is God, after all. Maybe if instead of freaking out, planning to run away to Brazil, or dragging my friends down with my negativity, I should just let Him take care of it. You'd think I'd know this by now. Apparently not. Which is a disappointment. But I guess...live and learn.

Random ramblings that slightly vary from those before.

Anyone watch Falcons vs. Saints last night? Not cool.

To give you any idea of how utterly awesome my life is, I think you should know what my siblings gave me for Christmas. Sibling #1 gave me a light-saber. Sibling #2 gave me cheese balls and a stick unicorn. Sibling #3 gave me bubble wrap.

I miss school people.

No way! A bajillion people are engaged!

In other news, I went back to work today. Wasn't half bad. I can't walk anymore, but that is the price you pay. A few people were even happy to see me. Success!

The Streak. Is over.

Firstly, I know I'm late on this, and I fail at blogging, but it was finals week, so cut me some slack.

Warning: If you are not a fan of the NFL, than nothing I am about to say is going to make sense. So you can either quit reading now, or be confused. Your decision. However, if you quit reading now, you will forever wonder what it is I was blogging about today.

297 games. 321 if you count the playoffs. Which kind of should be counted, since they're the ones that count. Anyways, that is a LOT of football games. 20 years worth, actually.

Yes, this is another post about Brett Favre. Don't critisize my obsessiveness just yet, please.

His record for the most consecutive starts came to an end on Tuesday, due to a crazy shoulder injury. And of course, the game just HAD to only be shown locally, because it was postponed.

I know that there are many people who hate Favre. There are others who loved him while he played for Green Bay. There are even more who think he's nothing but a drama queen who can't stay out of trouble and likes attention a little too much. I'm not going to argue any of those points. All I'm saying is the man is a football legend. Can you imagine being crushed by 300 pound guys every week for 20 years? I haven't even been alive that long.

Whatever else he is, Brett Favre is a fighter, a survivor, and the kind of hero people write stories about. I know football isn't even close to being important in the grand scheme of things. But sometimes the things guys go through on or off that field inspire other people to do real things. For 20 years he was on that field, ready to go for the opening kickoff. For 20 years he has played through every variety of injury. He fought an addiction to pain killers and won. The day after his father died, he went out and played an amazing game for his father. He went out and won after finding out his wife had cancer. He has been through a lot, and he's been through it all in front of the whole world. And yet he managed to pull through, keep winning, and set all kinds of records. If nothing else, he has taught us the value of perserverance. He taught us to have fun. No matter what was wrong with the rest of the world, every week he got out there and played like he was a kid again. For the love of the game. How many of us love something enough to do it for 20 years straight? Never stopping, never quitting, even when all the odds are against us? Maybe football and Brett can show us something meaningful after all.

I know he isn't retired yet, but I know it's happening sooner rather than later. He has at last run out of time. In a few years, few will know him. He won't be remembered by the next generation of football fans. He may be known as a TV analist. I don't think so. I think he will ride his mower out in Mississippi, play backyard ball with his grandchilden, and tell them stories of playing with the greats.

Even if he does disappear from public view, I shall never forget him or watching him play. He won me more than one Fantasy Superbowl, and has given me countless hours of awe and entertainment.

But more than that, he taught me that nothing is ever really impossible, and that the last second is still part of the game. Did I seriously just dig life lessons out of the grid iron? Woah, me.

Football won't ever be the same...

Dear Minnesota Vikings:

What was that? I mean really. You guys must have missed the memo back in Jr. High, but false start-ing every other play is not acceptable. The point of the defense is to defend. Might want to get on that. Oh, and you know that guy who throws the ball? There's this thing called protection, and you're supposed to do it. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Take it or leave it, but I know you guys can do better than that.

In case you missed it, the first half IS part of the game.

Also on the downside, Favre had 5 turnovers and now holds the record for most fumbles.

On the upside, he became the only player with 70,000+ passing yards. That is a stinking big amount of yards, people. He also became the first with 500 TD passes. Make that 502.

Sooo basically there was about 20 minutes in there that I enjoyed. Although I'm pretty sure the other people in the lobby got a kick out of my talking to the TV. Eh, it happens.

Forever a Favre Fan

I know, I'm crazy, right? I mean he is after all, indecisive, a traitor, and dramatic. Also, he should shave. But I just can't help it.

I've watched him play since I was 11, and he's won me more than one Fanball Super Bowl. I've seen him complete passes and win games he shouldn't have. I saw him pass the touchdown record, the start record, and even the interception record. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that last one...but he wouldn't be Brett Favre without it. His reckless and fun way of playing earned him those interceptions and defeats, yes, but they earned him many more touchdowns and victories. I watched him play the day after his dad died, and play well. I watched him win his 200th start.

I've also watched him retire. Twice. Or is it three times? I can't remember. I do remember several off seasons before, being in fear that he would do the unthinkable and never return. Yes, I cried the first time he retired. I was sure football as we knew it was over. I was thrilled when he came back, less thrilled when he landed with the Jetts...but I never gave up thinking that somehow the old guy still had it in him. When he retired the second time I didn't cry. Because I knew he'd come back. And he did. Once again, I wasn't over happy with the team he ended up with. Not because they were bad, but because it's the Vikings. They're like...evil. But I guess you can't be too bad when you've got Jared Allen. So last year, I watched him have the greatest season of a nineteen year career. Yes, they missed the Super Bowl by a play. But would they have even made it that far if Brett wouldv'e retired? I guess we'll never know.

I didn't believe it last year, and I don't believe it this year. Brett will be back. He'll get hit, sacked, and bruised. But he'll also run around on that field, flinging the ball all over creation, and smiling like a little kid the whole time. Because he's Brett.