My two “go-to” sports are baseball and Football. It’s never been basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, or bowling. Well, bowling, maybe. Wait. Golf always draws me as the one sport that is a quiet event that I don’t have to listen to enjoy.
Hmmm. Each of these sports required precision – using extremities and eye coordination, you hit, threw, kicked, tossed, and swung at or with the ball. Archery taught me I was a mixed bag of eye-hand coordination, so I took up left-handed archery. That was the strangest experience! Until I started hitting the bullseye! Then I adapted more quickly!
Every sport has lingo unique to its history; some apply to life in general.
From baseball, I enjoy thinking about the sacrifices players make to advance the runner around the bags into scoring position. In a bowling tournament, I watch the magic of ball control as the curves and spins send the pins crashing all over the place!
I participated in Ford’s Punt, Pass, and Kick when I was a youngster. Never before, and never since, did I enjoy the concept of Football as I did at Joe Camp’s Ford dealership in LaPorte, Texas. I threw, punted, and kicked that ball for all it was worth! Second Place for my age group!
I remember the first Super Bowl.
But I don’t remember the game.
January 15, 1967, I was 4,385 days old.
I had just celebrated my third January 13th birthday, which fell on a Friday.
In 1967 I had just turned 12.
Seventh Grade. Channelview Junior High.
Green Bay, 35. Kansas City, 10. Los Angeles Coliseum.
Sunday. Church.
I highlighted all the important facts of that first game. It fell on a Sunday, and we had church!
It seemed all anyone could do was talk about that game! I enjoyed the conversation but having not seen it, I had no clue of the particular pieces of action everyone talked about.
Drop 10…Punt
Every team possesses the ball for four downs.
That counter restarts if at least 10 yards are garnered.
When your back is against the wall,
and the downs number four.
The Hope Cupboard is bare
Drop 10…Punt.
When you are far enough from the marker,
With no Earl Campbell or Marshawn Lynch
No receiver to zip the ball down the field.
Nothing is left in your arsenal.
When all options are gone?
Drop 10…Punt.
Of course, if you are near the end zone
A kicker may reach the goal
The point count is fewer.
But it’s surely better than nothing.
Especially when all hope is gone
And the playbook is bare
What’s left? You do what you must.
Drop 10. Punt.
Life’s Little Lessons
More often than not, we all reach this stage of life. When you’ve tried everything, and everything has failed…what? Try Jesus? Why make him the last hope you have when he’s the only hope you’ll ever have?
I’m talking about making the best choices you can! There will come times when you have nothing left in the playbook. The cupboard is bare, the barrel is empty, and seemingly, hope has flown out the window. This is common to every one of us.
Think about it like this: Even dropping 10 and punting is a valid game option. Whether in life or a simple football game.
Drop 10, Punt: Even dropping 10 and punting is a valid game option. Whether in life or a simple football game. Share on XA study was done on plane crashes, and, unlike other transportation equipment, it was determined that a pilot never gave up. To the end, they kept trying one option and then the other. Some planes may have a “bailout” function, but not all of them! A pilot’s main job is protecting those on the ground or their cargo. Yet, pilots are known for their tenacity. They keep trying one thing after another. In the end, we see them as someone who never quits.
They have no “Drop 10…Punt” option.
Think about your options in life. What will you do when it seems hope is gone and there’s nothing left to try? Will you quit? Not me, I suspect. It’s ingrained. Drop 10. Punt.