Lynchpin

"Here we go. They're going to kick the field goal. It will be Jason Gingell. Good snap, good hold and the kick is blocked! Appalachian State has stunned the college football world...one of the great upsets in sports history! Blocked by Corey Lynch!" -Thom Brennaman, Big Ten Network, September 1, 2007.

It's my goal in life not to make sports a big part of this blog, and I wasn't going to do this particular blog second, but the weekend's events required it. The above is the Final Call from the Greatest College Football Upset of All Time, as many have called it, the day Appalachian State went to Michigan and pulled a big time shocker.

The author of that block is Corey Lynch. In I-AA football, there aren't enough people to have specific players on special teams. So, their starting defensive back was in on every play that wasn't offense for that entire game, and still had enough in the tank to block that field goal and almost run it all the way back.

While he became world famous for that play, it's not necessarily his biggest one. Lynch is known for picking the right pass off at the right time to end a game. It happened against Youngstown State in the semifinals last year, and against Furman on Saturday. The man is close to big plays all the time, which is absolutely impressive.

You would think someone like him would have a super huge ego. He's done more good things on the football field than some of the people you always hear making the news. Lynch was even live on ESPN the morning after the Michigan game talking about that big play, and he's got his own featured segment on FSN's Under the Lights special. Would you have a big ego if you'd done things like that in your sport or group in college?

If I do something big at work, I'll jump around and toot my own horn for a little while, but that's more for fun and exaggeration than anything else. More often, though, after I've forgotten something or done something silly, I'm always walking around the studios telling people that "the Production Coordinator of this organization is a complete and total idiot!" Both of those situations happened today, as a matter of fact.

I know stuff from Appalachian State isn't exactly all over ESPN anymore, but if you get a chance to hear someone interview Corey Lynch, pay special attention to his response to the first question. Those who do get to hear him a lot know exactly what I'm talking about before I even say it. The first words that come out of his mouth, no matter what question is asked:

"First of all, I want to thank Jesus Christ for the opportunity."

Refreshing, ain't it? He goes on to answer the question, but at the same time, Corey Lynch puts first things first. I really like that about him, it shows that whether he's on the Appalachian ISP Sports Network talking to Randy Jackson, or talking to Chris McKendry on SportsCenter, he doesn't change what he's always done. Same words, every single time.

On Saturdays I'm always in football mode. I'm always wearing my black Appalachian t-shirt with the same white hat, and I have all these traditions that I follow on Saturdays before a game. It's refreshing at the end of a game, or even during the pre-game show on occasion, to hear Corey Lynch's first remark.

It's also a challenge. Do I speak of the Lord the first time I answer a question? When something happens, good or bad, do I praise Him first?

Thank you, Corey, for that awesome testimony. You're a blessing and a challenge to Christians everywhere.

[Edit: I'm adding some links here to a couple newspaper stories about Corey that will be blessings.]

http://www.goasu.com/article/11328/

http://www.charlotte.com/sports/story/375947.html

The first of many!

I've started this blog for one reason and one reason only. To put the big rocks first, as my friend Doug once astutely observed. This blog is going to be a more spiritual look at life, from things I hear where I work, from sermons I've heard, or anything I observe that helps me learn more about God. To start, here are a few little things.

I get a text message every day, a sports-related devotional from Sports Spectrum. They are very good, using sports references to challenging the reader about living the Christian life. Here are a few I've kept in my phone:

"Trophy idols? Has a sports trophy ever become an idol? Too important? Your source for bringing satisfaction or peace. Only God can bring true peace." Wow. This one hit me pretty good when I read it, because I'm known for loving my trophies. I have a replica of the Seattle Storm's 2004 championship trophy at work, and a picture of the Stanley Cup on my wall. Not to mention a picture of Appalachian State's two trophies. But especially speaking, I've gone crazy over the awarding of the Stanley Cup almost every year at the end of the Finals. When I read that text, the thought hit me..."Do you think about God the way you think about that big silver thing?" Gulp. A lot of times I don't, and that's gotta change. And hopefully starting this blog will help me out with things like that.

"Start a streak: New Hall of Famer Cal Ripken's streak was 2,632 straight games. Challenge: Start your own daily streak of praying or Bible reading." I started praying a lot after 9/11, for obvious reasons. I still do, and not just before meals, either. I enjoy talking to the Lord. Another reason for this blog is to maybe get myself more into the Scriptures, because that has gone lacking sometimes, as has my brushing of teeth. But we won't get into the latter here.

"Appearances. World Series. Something on Kenny Rogers' hand. Looked bad, but illegal? Avoid what looks bad to others. Be holy, free from accusation. (Colossians 1:22) "Abstain from all appearance of evil." I Thessalonians 5:22. That verse comes into my mind a lot when considering everything from vacation plans to where I go to eat. While nowadays it's hard to eat at a decent restaurant that doesn't serve alcohol, there are a lot of things I can do to not make it appear that what I'm doing is evil. As for what I'm eating, that's a different story entirely.

"Too tall? Katie Feenstra. Six foot eight. Learned to love how God made her. Enjoys a WNBA career. What do you not like about yourself? Give it to God for His Glory." First of all, you'll learn in this blog that I am a big fan of Katie Feenstra, especially because of her days at Liberty where she professed the Lord's work in her life right there in the NCAA Tournament a few years ago on national TV. This particular text, though, made me think about myself. I'm a pretty big guy, way overweight. I don't like that about myself, it's a sinful state to be in, and I'm working to drop a lot. But, if I was in high school and college with a trimmer physique, then because of my mindset on certain things in those days, there is no telling where I would be or what trouble I would be in right now. So I thank the Lord for my physical appearance from keeping me out of some relationships that could've caused me immense trouble.

So the Lord is blessing me with different things to open my mind to His ways and the appropriate way to live the Christian life. Focus is the key. Coming up, I'm going to comment on an Insight for Living series I've heard parts of, as well as the aforementioned "Big Rocks" sermon, and I'll delve into some athletes from time to time, and my first artist will be Corey Lynch, the man who blocked the field goal to beat Michigan and impressed me with his gratitude toward Jesus Christ for everything he does.