The Boys of Fall

I bawled like a blubbering baby when I first heard this song. What a gripping piece of music for all in the football nation. A dear friend of mine said she cried too, and doesn’t “know a hike from a hut!” I think you’d nearly have to be heart-dead without a pulse not to have some emotion shuffling through your core as the lyrics tantalize tidbits of nostalgia. Country crooners can always wet the eyes of the steeliest of hearts; however, Kenny Chesney took it to a whole new level. He encapsulated the purity of the spirit in football with his song, but he seared the soul with its flavor.

I dedicate this post to my fellow classmates of Buckhead Academy, who went 10-0 the first year our school ever had a football team (Go class of ’72!) and to my grandson, who at age 7 is entering his first pee-wee football season. Go Bryson II!!! May the tradition thrive!

Football is steeped in tradition, with passionate players, frenzied fans, and crazy coaches willing to do almost anything, go anywhere, and lay it all out for their teams. The madness surrounding the sport is hard to express in one simple statement. Football is such a menagerie of emotions and lessons learned. These emotions along with their lessons, however, can symbolize how you view life or react to it.

I’ve always believed that the past affects the present. What you do or don’t do, who you hang with or how you seize opportunities, even those of the smallest kind, will affect you in ways that you might have never imagined. High school football can be one of those vehicles that contribute to and characterize who you are at the core. Winning or losing seasons can very well personify a way of life for your furture. It has been said that some of the greater lessons are those when losing. Of course, winning is a lot more fun!

Our Buckhead Bucks literally had nothing. Not even a football field to call their own. My dad and a small crew of two or three, led by Mr. Ed Alsobrooks, mounted lights on poles on a torn-up, rundown field in town, just hours before we kicked off our first game. My mother finished stitching the last sleeve of my cheerleading uniform in the wee hours that Friday morning, so I could proudly wear it to school. We didn’t have a formal pep rally to send our boys off raht-proper-like for that first game, but honey, you’d've never known it. We were so late in assembling a football team that we didn’t get registered in time with the state under the “independent schools” sports section.  That meant we would not be allowed to compete on the state level for a championship play-off. But who in the world, in that fall of 1971, gave us a gnat’s chance of winning any game?

Understand, we had nothing. But in reality, we had more than nothing! What we did have was the intangible! That undeniable, deep-rooted, pure as the driven snow, emotionally packed, triumphal spirit that cannot be taught, cannot be duplicated, and cannot be produced, no matter how hard any coach anywhere could muster the effort!

Call it lightning in a bottle, magic or fairy tales, it’s the one thing all schools everywhere should experience at least once in their lives. Indeed, football history is loaded with plenty of heroes and teams that beat the odds. But our little school in South Georgia, located down a dusty dirt road, outside of town, smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, nonetheless went down in state history books! Not because of talent, not because of great coaching, and sadly, not because of the cheerleaders, but because of the intangible spirit within the hearts of every member of our student body!

Our itty-bitty school broke a long-standing record, going 10-0 in its inaugural football season. That made us the first football program in Georgia high school history to go undefeated the first year of playing the game! We came home the champions time and time again that special year and the record still stands.

It was a privilege to be part of it all, and I may be the only senior past or present who didn’t want to graduate—but oh honey, what a year! What an awesome tradition. And the legacy is passed on. It spilt over to my sons’ lives as well. Now, my grandson. That little team brought me through some amazing obstacles in life. That never quit, never die attitude strengthened my soul at times when I needed that extra push when all I wanted to do was give up.

Auspicious experiences in life have a way of leaving lasting impressions on one’s psyche, impressions which can supply steadfast tenaciousness as those lessons are passed on to future generations. It’s hard to fight back those butterflies, every time I think of a cheer, a score or the crowd roaring to their feet on that ole field. All I want to do is celebrate with the Buckhead Bucks once more! So, what do I do? I write about football from a mama’s heart who has passed on that winning legacy.

And, to all those football teams of today—dang-straight! Folks do indeed live vicariously through you. I am one of them!

Green Wave Player Injured: Finding God's Grace in the Depths of Disaster

Only when you’ve had a son of your own go down in the middle of a game can you really comprehend the sudden impact of near hysteria in a mama’s heart. Watching your child lay lifeless on the field can spiral a mother’s mind into orbit with thoughts no one but God could understand. The shock she endures is overwhelming. It is so scary and uncertain.

The effects of injured Tulane player Devon Walker echo far beyond any stadium bleachers. That I am certain of. I know, I understand, because I’ve been in those shoes. It is not something I wish on any football mama anywhere, no matter how huge the rivalry. We are all one when something like this happens.

But how to make sense of it all? How to find God when He seems so far away? How to get a grip on the situation? How to calm yourself and cope, when all you really want to do is chop somebody, anybody’s head off? And, where is God’s grace anyway, dang-nab-it?

Then again, you have to ask yourself this question: Where in His word did He ever say we would not have to suffer? Or go through trials and tragedy? No one is immune from life’s heartaches. That I am also certain of. He did, however, say He’d see us through trouble with grace so amazing it will make even the biggest skeptic scrutinize.

Allow yourself to reflect for a minute—doesn’t God shine His best when we go through trials and tribulation? He’s been shining His best all the way down throughout history. Remember the release of the Israelites from Egypt? Just one example of how God used His guy, Moses, to free the Lord’s people. But God didn’t stop there. Oh no, He parted the Red Sea to see those people to safety! Talk about shining through just in the nick of time! In John 6: 1-14, Jesus once again shines through a set of challenging circumstances, feeding the 5,000 people with a little boy’s two small fish and five loaves of bread, not to mention all those He healed that day.

These are just a few examples from the Bible. I know many of you have personal testimonies of how God shined His grace through tuff times in your lives again and again. He is always faithful, always provides and always shines through! He is amazing.

Sometimes, maybe even most times, we’ll never know the greater purpose God has in store for allowing us to go through such tragedy, but we’ve got to trust that He knows what He’s doing. I can tell you raht now, that’s a tuff cookie to swallow and it is very difficult to understand His grace, especially when your kid is in peril. At this very minute, this family needs our prayers.

I’m asking the Lord to shine His grace upon this family and those who are attending to Devon, including the docs. I pray for His healing power to cover this child. I also ask, in the mighty name of Jesus, for comfort for his mama, to give her and his family God’s peace that surpasses all understanding. I ask You, too, Lord to provide all logistics in getting his family to and from Tulsa or wherever they need to go.

As far as Tulane University, it really doesn’t get any better academically. My oldest son, Bryson Westbrook, holds a business degree from Tulane and played all four years, including the 1998 12-0 season. He knows from experience how hard it is to keep up the GPA and play football for the Green Wave at the same time. This young man is studying to be a pharmacist. Quite impressive majoring in pharmacy and playing the sport. If you believe that wasn’t God’s grace, think again.

Yes, finding God’s grace is possible even in the depths of disaster. It is never easy but at the end of the day, it is worth every tear, worth every heartache, worth every ounce of sweat seeking Him with a desperate heart full of despair. Watch and see how He works it all out. He will shine His grace just in the nick of time! Let's pull together football family and keep this child, Devon Walker in our prayers.     

There's a Big "I" in Quit!

To Quit, or not to Quit, that is the question.

Let’s be honest, haven’t we all wanted to quit at something one time or another in our lives? Maybe when the going got so bad you wanted to pull your hair out? What then, I ask, was it that made you continue? Might it have been envisioning the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or something else that gripped your heart? Maybe even something stronger than you ever thought possible buried just below the surface?

The big “I” in quit has everything to do with you! You control the “I” in the quit factor. And, at the end of the day it’s all up to you.

Perhaps you’ve either quit on a job, a friend, a colleague, a dream, something in your past, something in the present, or maybe you’ve never quit on anything in your life. Most of us have quit on something a time or two in life, whether it was for our benefit or not. Maybe it was for a good reason, or maybe you found an excuse to quit. Heck, I think we can all find excuses going for the bargain price of a dime a dozen!

Let’s take football teams for example. (You knew I was getting to it!) Why is it that some teams seem to thrive on 4th down and 2. Seconds left on the clock. No huddle. Run the ball in for a TD to capture the winning score—all with no fumbles or confusion and certainly no quitting from any player. While other teams appear to fumble like crazy and fall apart under such pressure?

I’m here to declare that, yes great coaching, preparing and game planning has a lot to do with it. But honestly, even more importantly—it’s in the DNA mind-set within the players, y'all! That sounds so simple but it is so true. I hate to squash your image of how genius-like and dang-nab artfully your head coach executes his game plan, but it has got more to do with what happens between the ears of his players than it does brawn or coaching or even the cheering home field advantage.

Proverbs 23: 7 “As a man “thinks” in his heart, so is he…”

So, with that in mind, how do you view yourself within your own heart?  Are you a quitter, or do you keep on going when things look out of reach? The big “I” in quit can be most challenging and pesky and here’s why: it’s your reflection you see in the mirror. No one else’s. We’ve only ourselves and the Lord to answer to.

As strong women, single mothers or wives, we’ve all had those days of hair pullin’ and would’ve offered up our children to the lowest bidder at a moment’s notice. Or, we sent up the white flag in surrender to the unbearable circumstances we were facing, and some of you may be having one of those days today! Of course, we’d never really offer up our kids, then again?? Kidding, I’m only kidding …

I believe we as strong women have simply set our minds to do impossible things, especially when we are tired and plum worn out. We go the extra mile for our kids, sometimes literally, driving them here or there, investing time in them with the hopes of rearing bright, productive, unselfish offspring—citizens who will contribute to society in positive ways. I salute mamas and women who inspire and encourage a no quit spirit in the mind-sets of their children and influence their communities for a greater good.

Just like the football team that click’s under pressure, our juggling act isn’t easy but, Quitters? I doubt it. Gooo Ladies!