7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Last Day
Well, we’ve just about arrived. Kick-off to Superbowl XLIII is merely hours away and the anticipation of the game is on the minds of many sports fans across the country. Sadly, the anticipation of the commercials, which might be the larger anticipation, is on the minds of television fans and of people who like parties with lots of food. In the end, there will be a winning team (the champions) and a losing team. It may be the team you are rooting for, it might not. 50-50. Win – go down in history. Lose – be forgotten.
A quick thought today… God wants our best, given freely to him, in all we do. In the little things (hosting a party, being a guest, making comments about the plays, the calls or the commercials) during the game (and always) be aware of your words, your actions and your thoughts. A True Man never makes someone call into question his motivation, his intent or his character. Be a gentleman and a servant of Christ.
COMING SOON… since Superbowl Week is now over, we’ll be back to our normal posting schedule. Please watch for upcoming podcasts, video and the addition of the e-book, “The Biblical Man – e-book Edition” by Dave DiNuzzo.
Your comments and suggestions are appreciated!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 6 (Mike Tomlin Day)
Only 2 days left until THE BIG DAY! (Go Steelers!) Superbowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals.
Before you read this post, please check out this clip of Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, at one of his Superbowl Press Conferences this week. CLICK HERE FOR THE MIKE TOMLIN VIDEO. (Notice specifically the video segment 0:45-1:36 – as he speaks about “the game plan”). Sorry I wasn’t able to embed it in this post.
What stands out to me in this clip is the attitude that Coach has. This is the youngest head coach in NFL history to ever take a team to the Superbowl. He’s constantly telling his players to be humble, play hard and to not underestimate their opponents. He sets the example of cool-calm-and-collected. He realizes that their team isn’t perfect, while at the same time continuing to shoot for perfection. His positive and optimistic outlook guides the Steelers towards greatness.
One of the reporters asks him about his “game plan” and if getting to the Superbowl was in his plan. He answers this (somewhat ridiculous) question by saying “of course it was my plan. It’s every coach’s plan, and it will always be my plan as long as I am coaching.” Liken this to our goals in life. If we go into our “season” without a game plan, without a set of plays and without the playbook, we’ll easily be defeated. (Note: our “season” is our life. The “game plan” is our daily plan of how we’re going to grow closer to Christ. The “set of plays” are our everyday prayers, actions, choices and the Mass and our “playbook” is Sacred Scripture.) If we set a goal of achieving the title of “champion” (heaven), we’re much more likely to be granted that salvation than if we never decide to shoot for anything in life. Set your goal towards God.
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 5
Be a responsible man. Take responsibility for your actions. Sometimes, men (and women too, but men definitely take the cake in this category) like to blame other people for their mistakes, poor choices and general bad judgment. This is not good. This is not something you want to adopt as a characteristic to live by. Taking ownership and being responsible for what you say and do is a key to living a life of a True Man. Your witness, success, happiness and future will be much brighter if you “man up” and “bite the bullet” when you do something less than your best.
How is he going to relate this to football? Easy. Imagine that you’re watching a game on Sunday. How often (I’d say just about every time) do we see a player throw his hands up in unbridled disagreement to the referee’s call of a penalty?
Why can’t they just admit that the face-masking call is legitimate and that the holding penalty occurred and that the pass interference wasn’t a figment of any body’s imagination?
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 4 (Kurt Warner Day)
Although I’m a HUGE Steelers fan, I’m going to be “ecumenical” today and give up a big shout out to Kurt Warner, the QB for the Arizona Cardinals. This guy’s got one amazing story. We might be familiar with the part of the story that includes his going from the grocery store stockboy to Superbowl MVP, but most of us aren’t familiar with the side of the story that goes like this…
Kurt grew up in an abusive home. He worked hard throughout his youth to overcome those odds and eventually made it to training camp with the Green Bay Packers, but was later released from the team. While working as a stock boy at the local Hy-Vee grocery store, he noticed Brenda, the checkout girl. He stayed after his shift one day and offered her a ride home; as he dropped her off, he asked if he could see her again, outside of work. She said it wasn’t possible. See, Brenda was a divorcee with two kids from an abusive previous marriage. Most men run to the hills at the sound of a story like that. Kurt was different, he wanted to take the kids with them on their date. She said it wasn’t possible. See, Brenda’s son was born a paraplegic and was in a wheelchair. No man would possibly want that situation to enter his seemingly normal life. Kurt was different, he wanted to help Brenda and her kids. Within a year of their first date, Kurt and Brenda were married. Kurt adopted Brenda’s son and daughter and together they have two additional children. Kurt went on to be signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams and was named 1999 League MVP as well as MVP of Superbowl XXXIV. (Only Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young achieved that honor before him. They are all Hall of Famers!) Kurt attributes his success in the NFL and in life to his personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
See, Kurt manned up. He took struggle, hardships and seeming defeat and worked harder than they could. He continued to be faithful to Jesus and never let anything get in the way of his dreams. He found a woman that he loved and did whatever he could to win her heart. (He pursued her without end.) He treats her as his queen and loves every child, even a paraplegic. (Our society would suggest that a paraplegic is sub-human and should be aborted in the womb.) Kurt sets a great example for us about being a husband, father and dreamer. Thanks Kurt!
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 3
T-Minus 5 days and counting until Superbowl 43…
Today, I’m thinking about the players in the NFL, and the typical picture that is painted for us of a player on the side lines. Typically, we see the star players getting a water-boy to squirt water in their mouth for them, someone who takes their helmet off and places it on their own personal “helmet heater” and yet another person who comes behind them and places a warm cape over their shoulders during cold games. Is this reality? Do you have an assistant that comes behind you and “takes care of you”? Most of us want to say no, but if you think about it, you might have to change your answer to yes.
Think about it this way… if you’re a married man, do you make your wife take care of everything around the house? (The cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and the bills?) Does your wife do everything for the children? (Feed, change, dress, educate and play with them?) If this is making you think, I’m glad. My hope is that each of us realizes that, much like the players on the field, a marriage is a team. In football terms, how well would a team do if the offense also played defense AND special teams? They received no rest, no substitutes and no relief. They’d get run down and worn out. Are you doing this to your spouse? A True Man knows that cooking is a huge help (on a grill is preferred!), that cleaning any part of the house is a major relief and that a break from the kids is a god-send. A True Man also knows that this DOES NOT take away from his manhood, but enhances it. Be a teammate.
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 2 (Troy Polamalu Day)
T-Minus 6 Days and counting until Superbowl 43…
Many of you are familiar with the star of the top-ranked Steeler defense, #43 Troy Polamalu (pronounced: poh lah mah loo). You’re probably familiar with him because of his tenacity, aggressiveness, number of sacks and interceptions, and especially because of his long, curly, black, Polynesian hair. (Not familiar with Troy? Click HERE.) You might not be familiar with him because of another reason… his Catholic faith. Polamalu is a devote Catholic, a genuine family man and a humble servant – off the field. This picture of him seemingly contrasts his playing style – on the field. Troy disagrees. He believes that his passion (for football) on the field is directly related to his passion (for Christ) off the field. He was quoted in the Pittsburgh Catholic saying “Football gives me confirmation of how I can carry out my faith. It’s my way to glorify God.” He also recently started a philanthropic foundation that benefits our service men and women!
His teammates have some things to say about him, too. “Knowing Troy and how he carries himself, he brings light to the team,” said offensive lineman Alan Faneca. “Everybody respects that.” “He’s definitely one of those guys who lead by example,” said quarterback Charlie Batch. “He’s not a talker when he gets out there, but you see the work he does on the field and produces every Sunday. When you put that combination together, yeah, he’s one of those guys that you’re going to follow … and he doesn’t take for granted that he’s blessed with incredible speed and instinct.”
Leading by example… that’s TRUE MANHOOD. Way to go Troy!
Check out the full story from the Pittsburgh Catholic HERE.
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – DAY 1
The countdown has begun; t-minus 7 days and counting until the big game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals – Superbowl 43 on February 1, 2009 in Tampa, Florida. This game is especially exciting for me this year because I’m a huge Steelers fan.
It’s easy for us to get into the stereotypical (“dumb ox”) mindset when it comes to football… “ugh… me like football. mmm, smash, kill, score, win… arghh”. It’s easy to yell at the television, even though we know they can’t hear us and that the play we’re yelling about is already history. It’s easy to stuff our faces full of greasy food during any given game. It’s easy to become involved, in an unhealthy way, in the fantasy of the game. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing intrinsically evil about football, and in the right context, is perfectly normal and healthy, however, we should guard against a few tendencies.
- We must realize that football is a game and has zero positive bearing on what should be our goal in life – getting to Heaven.
- We shouldn’t try to live (vicariously, or otherwise) through our favorite team or all-star players.
- We should never allow football to take precedence over family time.
- We should never allow football to take precedence over our responsilibities.
- We should “consume” football in reasonable amounts.
LOOKING AHEAD. Monday’s post: How a real life football star stays grounded as a family man and philanthropist.
