LOOK IN THE MIRROR NOTRE DAME
THE BLACK EYE:
How ironic the two top stories in college football this week--maybe in some respects this season--were epitomized in the eyes of both schools high profile QB's.
Venerable Notre Dame, struggling with what to do about head coach Charlie Weis, is led onto the field by Jimmie Clausen sporting a black eye, no doubt put there by a classy ND fan disappointed at the unreal expectations and their wanton greed, lust and gluttony. Speculation on my part to be sure, but does anyone, ANYONE believe that Clausen gets "sucker-punched" by a ND fan on his own turf--in the shadows of touchdown Jesus--if the Golden Domers are 11-1 or 10-2, like they thought they would be coming into this season? I DON'T.
This is a train wreck that has been years in the making. Frustrated alumni and administrators, blinded with keeping their exclusive TV contract and getting back to the top, have driven this program into forgetting who they are and what they represent.
It goes back to how they handled Bob Davie, Ty Willingham and now Charlie Weis. Do these two groups of jack-asses (ND alumni and administrators) honestly believe they are going to get a coach more qualified than Charlie Weis? Do they still believe that they can compete at the highest levels of college football today and maintain their high academic and graduation standards? You play schools like Stanford and Navy for a reason. They are your academic peers and your football peers as well. If you want to step up and compete with Oklahoma and USC and the other football factories, changes other than the head coach will have to be made.
And those changes will result in a definitive change in who the university IS and what they REPRESENT. This university is going to make a statement above and beyond a head coaching change by this decision. I hope if they decide to sell their soul, they get proper recompense. Good Luck.
If they do decide to make the change, I find it ironic that the guy who would be the best fit for the program is never mentioned as a candidate--Buffalo's head coach Turner Gill. I have not heard his name mentioned even as a long shot candidate. The candidates I have heard mentioned are an early indication as to WHY Gill doesn't make the list. The winds of change are blowing around South Bend. And it is an ill wind indeed.
It is perhaps a bit of irony mixed with proper symbolism that Clausen represents the university sporting a black eye. Notre Dame may be looking at giving itself a self-inflicted black eye later this week.
THE EYE BLACK:
While all this is going on, balance is provided in the eye black of Tim Tebow.
PROVERBS 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Has there been a better college football player rolled up into a finer human being than Tim Tebow? If there is a "character" clause attached to the Heismann voting, then I am not sure how Tebow doesn't win his second trophy this year.
Somehow, I don't think he would be as bothered as I would be if he is not selected. Nor do I think the "Tebow as NFL prospect" detractors bother him as much as they bother me. All the kid does is win. Similar knocks came against Steve Young and they had similar games coming out of college. Last time I checked Steve Young is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Now he could end up more like Danny Weurfell than Steve Young, but that's fine. In a sense, Tebow's gifts would be somewhat under-utilized in the NFL as opposed to where his future lies after football.
The kid is truly inspirational not only to his teammates--a tough crowd to influence with the message Tim delivers--but to coaches and fans alike. He's made being self-less cool to an age group that is normally considered more remarkable for their aloofness and self-centeredness.
If we are to believe the Google trends feature, his messages in eye black have inspired more Bible research than a Fellowship of Christians Athletes bible study class. His verses are at the top of the Google search list after each new listing is perched under his eyes.
FROM THE BLOG TEBOW'S EYE BLACK
http://www.tebowseyeblack.com/
Tebow's Eye black represents how something small can make a big impact in a world full of noise. It is amazing that a college football player's eye black can generate 94 million searches on Google.
He wears his Christianity openly and remarkably in a culture that has drifted toward stifling such speech as if it were proselytising or some other form of "hate speech".
TEBOW ON HIS FAITH:
"People are never going to believe it if it's something that you're telling them and it's something that you're beating them over the head with," Tebow said. "That's not going to influence anyone. It's not. How you're going to influence someone is if they see something in you that seems different or seems special or they see something in you and think, 'Wow, that's really cool. I want to look into that.'
"It's not because I'm forcing anything on anyone or not because I'm trying to push it. I don't do that at all. I try to make it part of my life, just like it is, and I'd never deny it or force it. But I'll always have it part of my life. That's just me. I hope that people can see how it affects my life and how I'm so passionate about it and what it does in my life."
And he does it the way he leads--by example.
How cool is it that 1st Timothy 1:5 says?:
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith
Tebow may not hear his name called in the draft exactly where he may like and some may say unkind things about his football play, but I have every confidence that he will hear those most precious of words said about him, "Well done, good and faithful servant" and he will not be kept waiting for his eternal reward.
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