“And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Sometimes the bigger win comes with the loss.
I grew up on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.” Jim McKay’s opening monologue is lodged in my brain:
“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition...”
“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!” What a line. The words and the images accompanying McKay’s words are firmly fixed in my mind. I don’t need ABC’s highlight reel, but for the sake of nostalgia here is the 1978 version of McKay’s unforgettable opening.
Perhaps the reason this resonates is that we have all felt the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, whether we experienced it personally as player or coach or vicariously through our chosen team or favorite athlete, (Hey Eagles’ fans, can I get an “Amen!”)
Recently, I experienced both.
Two Saturdays back, in Lancaster, our men’s basketball team cut down the net as they won the United East Conference Championship and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
We headed to Ohio and Mount Union University for our bracket, where we drew NYU for our first contest. After cruising to a 20-point lead in the first half, NYU battled back. The the game was tied with just three minutes to play. It was tense, but Lancaster Bible College eked out a W with just seconds left in the game on Jordan Shewbridge’s off-balance three-pointer (click here for the last 10 seconds).
It was historic, LBC’s first NCAA Tournament win. I am still recovering my voice!
The next night, we played Mount Union University for the opportunity to join the Sweet Sixteen. Mount Union was the #3 team in the country, boasting the nation’s top defensive player. LBC jumped to an early lead but were overcome by the stronger Mount Union squad who, in basketball parlance, “shot lights out.”
Our tournament journey was over. Two BIG W’s and one season-ending loss.
Happiness and heartache.
Euphoria and melancholy.
Sweet and bitter-sweet.
The journey was over, but like ABC’s Wide World of Sports, a highlight reel remains. No, it’s not the clutch three, or the blocked shot, or the fast break, or the exclamatory dunk, or even our traveling group of fans who did our team proud and made some serious noise!
The moment fixed in my mind is the footage that the world would deem B-Roll at best. But in God’s video collection, I think it is A-Roll. Here’s the still image, you can click it for the video:
Gathering and praying with the opposing team at the end of the game — win or lose — is Coach Jon Mack and LBC Men’s Hoops!
Mind you, this is not a Christian conference or Christian national tournament. Watch the video. A few moments before this moment, the Mount Union Arena was packed and loud. The Purple Raiders had put a black and blue hurtin’ on the LBC Chargers. Their fans were euphoric. Chants of “Na Na Na Na Hey Hey-ey Goodbye!” filled the house. Some of our seniors were in tears. But that’s not stopping Coach Jon Mack and our guys from gathering at Center Court with the team that just beat us.
The Chargers do this when they win and when they lose.
I am so proud of our team and our fans; the fans for making the journey and making the noise though greatly outnumbered by the capacity crowd at Mount Union . . . and our players . . . what can I say about our guys? Even as their 15-game winning streak was snapped they exemplified God-honoring excellence in both play and character. In doing so they lived up to our mission in athletics:
To pursue excellence through athletics and cultivate Christ-centered relationships that impact others.
Yep, getting the W to win the conference championship was sweet! And YES, beating Mount Union to advance to the Sweet Sixteen would have been cotton candy! But praying with the team that just thumped you, that too falls under the category of “whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
The excellence to get the W honors God and getting the WIN is great, but sometimes the win is so much more than the “W”. It is what it takes to get there and what happens along the way that exalts Christ and points people to him.
So BIG CONGRATS to the Purple Raiders of Mount Union. You played great! And way to go, Chargers, for giving all of us in the arena a little taste of another way to honor God!