Blue Wednesday

A few observations from WC v. Carthage last night:

- First the details: Carthage won (yes, you read that correctly) 23-22 on a field goal with :21 remaining in the game.

- Before I say anything else, I want to say that Carthage played well enough to and did earn that victory. So any WC fans that say otherwise just need to let it go. Yes, the officiating was suspect at times, the time-keeper might have had an agenda, the excessive celebration penalty (on WC) was ridiculous, but WC had chances to put this game away and didn't do it (like turning it over on downs in the red-zone 3 times and muffing a kickoff with 2:30 on the game clock. When you don't put a team as explosive as Carthage away, eventually they'll beat you.

- As someone who has married into WC football I'm still getting used to some things. For instance, I made a comment to my wife this morning knowing she already knew this. When WC wins they celebrate alone, but when they lose everyone rejoices. I guess that's what happens when you dominate a sport the way WC has done for so long. So be it.

- Rest assured there will be some complete over-reactions following this game. People will say stupid things - like questioning whether WC should fire John Roderique (yeah, that would make sense) or all sorts of stupid stories about this being the end of the dynasty. Mark my word, while the victory for Carthage is a big deal, it will be blown completely out of proportion.

- My advice for Carthage fans: Enjoy this win, you earned it. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a run in the playoffs, with WC out, the title is up for grabs. And finally, and maybe most importantly, when you finally beat a team that had beaten you 20 straight times, for more years in a row than any of your players are old, don't talk smack and don't taunt the WC players (I actually saw Carthage fans run onto the field and do this). I know you're excited, you should be. But when you get beaten down 20 times in a row and finally win one, maybe it would be better to act like it wasn't your first rodeo and like you understand that you're guaranteed to play WC at least once every year for the foreseeable future. Maybe it's not the best idea to give them any added incentive. Maybe next time they get the chance they won't back off in the second half like they did repeatedly during the streak.

- My plea with WC fans: Don't brand this team as "the team that lost to Carthage." It's inevitable, I know. But it's a bad deal for them. You have to remember, they also beat Carthage this season. And frankly, how would you like to be remembered for your one loss instead of your 10 wins? I've seen us (and I'm going to throw myself in that mix) label certain teams and let others off the hook. As though losing in the state finals was worse than not getting there. Or losing to Carthage is worse than not making the playoffs. I'm all about the tradition, I'm all about high standards, but be fair to these kids. They've got to live this down and being known as "that team" is only going to make it tougher.

- We all knew that the streak over Carthage had to end someday. And now that we have such a strong chance of playing them twice each year (season and playoffs) the odds were against it continuing much longer. The bottom line here is that Carthage has a good team and they played well enough to win last night. WC should have put the game away in the 3rd and early 4th quarter when they drove deep into Carthage territory only to turn it over on downs (this also happened once in the first half). WC also should have put it away after Carthage scored to make it 16-14, but the mishandled kickoff changed the momentum and gave Carthage the upper hand - and WC never really got it back, because the clock was too much of a factor at that point.

- If I were John, I would consider painting number 10 on all my tackling dummies for a while. I've got a feeling there are more than a few of the WC players (coaches, fans, casual observers, etc.) who wouldn't mind seeing the Carthage QB (who will remain nameless) get lit up a few times after some of his show-boating last night. My advice to him: Son, hit the weight room. You're small, scrawny, and now have an even bigger bulls-eye on your back than before. In fairness, you made just enough of those three crow-hop throws to win last night. Congratulations.

That's all I've got for now.

Last Rose of the Season

Last Thursday as I was walking from my father-in-law's house (where I park for WC home football games) to the stadium a thought occurred to me, "It must be fall now, because that tree is bright orange." Yeah, I'm a little slow at times. Over the weekend I started to notice that a lot of trees in the area have started their color change cycle.

This morning I noticed a single new rose bloom on our rose bush outside our front door. There is one additional bud and one shoot that looks like it could produce a bud if it doesn't freeze first. However, with local weather calling for a "hard" freeze tonight and/or tomorrow night the odds of either of these latter two getting to open before the weather gets them is slim.

The single open bloom is likely the last for this year. While I'm no gardener to speak of - and like Eric Epperson I do not own a combine - I do enjoy watching this rose bush - which is as tall as the guttering on my house (literally) - bloom each year.

The bush serves as a good visual depiction of the birth, growth, maturity, decline, and death cycle that all living things go through (I'm also not a biologist, so if those aren't the right terms or I left one out please consider the source). But here is what I really like about the rose bush. I'm going to cut it way back this winter (down to the stalks that are so thick my cutters won't cut them) and in the spring - barring something unexpected - it's going to come out blooming again.

The yearly cycle of my rose bush is a little like our spiritual lives in the sense that most of us go through times when we our growth as Christians can be plainly seen (as with the blooms on the bush) and others when we may look/feel dead or like our work is fruitless (as the bush is in early spring when just green, thorny stalks begin to grow). But here is what I've noticed about this rose bush, which I think is about 5 years old now (based on when the house was built), regardless of what it looks like at particular times of the year, each year it produces more blooms. We had 2 different times this year when there were 30+ blooms and/or buds at one time on it. As the bush matures it still goes through the same cycle it did before, but each time it emerges it is stronger and produces more fruit.

It can be frustrating as a Christian to be going through a time in life where you don't see yourself growing, I've certainly felt that. But I believe that if we are continuing to seek Christ, when (in His timing) we emerge from that period of our life we will do so stronger and more effective for His Kingdom.

This is something I've noticed some of our interns going through during the summer. They come to Joplin expecting to spend the summer on a spiritual high - no doubt because they've been to Move as a student and/or sponsor and that is what it was to them in those capacities - but find themselves focusing on details that may not be initially leading to the spiritual fulfillment they had hoped for. But time and again, I get emails or hear about others who have talked to different interns who felt that way and they have a much different perspective a few months after the fact. In some cases interns who we as a staff thought would never re-apply do. What seems to be happening is that they are growing, but don't see it until the fruit of that growth starts to appear later.

So while we are headed for winter, spring will be here soon enough. If you are walking through a winter-like period in your spiritual journey take heart, the day will come when you'll be able to see growth and maturity and the fruit that comes along with them.