 I continue to Explore the Iceberg for the roots of the emotion I feel gets triggered during sports stories or sporting events. I think I'm nearing the root of the thread and at its core is the heart of the "underdog". These blogposts began when my emotions were triggerd by the Seattle Seahawks Superbowl victory celebration. I found another video, click here, that portrays their story really well, check it out! I have been blessed to be part of an "underdog" sports story in my past, and I think this is one of the many reasons this emotion runs deep inside of me. This story, the Post Falls Girls Basketball 1983 State Championship season, was revisited last weekend when this team was awarded the Idaho State "Legends of the Game" Award, an award given to teams from the past that had a significant impact on their sport and community. I was part of the coaching staff that led this group of women in accomplishing goals that no one believed could be achieved by a team from Post Falls, Id. Most of the state championships in that era came from teams located in southern Idaho. Teams from the north just weren't on the basketball map, so to speak. See the team photo above for a throwback to 1983, and then see the photo gallery below to capture these incredible women today at the Legends celebration, which was held during the Idaho State Championship Girls Basketball tournament in Nampa, Id. on Feb. 22, 2014. The walk down memory lane (see slide show below) with these women is something I will always treasure, because as a team of coaches and players we had our "underdog" story. What was beautful is that many of these ladies have their own "underdog" life stories that are very inspiring. The theme of believing in yourself, persevering in trials and leaning on others seemed to be common in their stories. What an amazing weekend, with an amazing group of people and to add the "icing on the cake"...I was privileged to share it with my family and now you who read this blog. What is so signifcant about the stories of "underdogs" that connects with the human spirit? I will be talking more about that next time and how I see "underdog" all over the story God is writing in our lives, Vic and Monique (Marriage Mosaic).
0 Comments
I've always loved the "underdog" and stories of the "underdogs" coming from behind to succeed in life and particularly in sports. Those stories always hold my interest and seem to be at the core of my emotional thread.  There was even a cartoon made that ran for ten years in the mid 1960's - 70's called Underdog. Do you remember the cartoon character, Underdog? Click on him if you want to see a brief intro. to the cartoon. This very brief synopsis of the cartoon came from the IMDb website: A shoe shine puppy transforms himself into a superhero every time Sweet Polly Purebread (a pretty TV reporter) gets in trouble. As I remember the character, he was a very odinary goofy dog that really couldn't harm a fly or be much of anything. Then out of nowhere, when somebody was in distress, he would transform into a funny superdog who would save the day.  You can find out more by clicking on the image. As I follow this emotional thread (Exploring the Iceberg) I'm finding it is rooted in joy, happiness and elation for the plight of the "underdog". Here is another emotion stirring moment for me out of Seattle Mariners history. Dave Niehaus, who I mentioned earlier makes the calls in 1995. Emotions are welling up inside me right now as I watch again and relive the memories. Enter into my world and enjoy frie  Are you ready to follow the thread (see previous post) with me? Okay, what I must do is Explore the Iceberg. In other words, go below the surface apart from the stuff I let you see, the stuff I will talk about with you. Let's dive into the roots of the emotion that brought tears to my eyes when I saw the Seahawks Superbowl celebration via video. This is a bit risky for all of us, because now we are getting at the heart of being known and trusting others with us. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts. Pslam 139:23  A football coach and his players in 1960. As I follow the thread of this emotion, I go back to my childhood and see myself on the sidelines with high school football players in the early 1960's. The photo above does a pretty good job of capturing the memory in my mind and if I could be seen in the photo; I'd be the 10 year old boy in the background trying to stay out of the way, maybe with a football in my hand. The sights, sounds and smells of the game were swirling around me. You see, my uncles were football coaches and my dad would take me to games on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons. Every once in awhile, I got to join my cousin down on the field, on the sidelines. What a treat! I felt so special!  The thread goes on to take me to basketball season. My dad love basketball and enjoyed refereeing games. He would travel all over So. Calif. to referee and every so often he'd take me with him. I got to meet his fellow referee partners, sit in the stands and watch the game. The sights, sounds and smells of basketball became very familar to me too. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat became part of my childhood expeirence. I was a keen observer to all that was going on in games and very much wanted to be a part of the action one day. These childhood experiences were fuel for my dreams of one day becoming a professional basketball player. The wide range of emotions I saw on the field or on the court were deeply interwined with all that I tasted on weekends, These emotions etched memories that are anchored in my heart.  I wish I could anticipate the triggers that move me to tears, but then again, maybe that would ruin the mystery that God has for me in this life journey. It is almost baseball season. This week catchers and pitchers reported to the Seattle Mariners spring training facility in Peoria. I've loved the Mariners ever since hearing this guy, Dave Niehaus, broadcast the games on the radio in the 90's. Dave had a way of bringing to life the game over the radio. His call of the game winning hit by Edgar Martinez in the 1995 Division series versus the Yankees is one of the classic baseball calls of all time; in my opinion.
This leads us to my next post as we follow the thread...join me next week and Go Mariners!  Superbowl Sunday and the week that followed were huge in the history of the city of Seattle. Over 700,000 people turned out on a bright, sunny, clear and cold day to celebrate the Seattle Seahawks Superbowl championship team on Tues. Feb. 4th. Regionally, this event was televised for over two hours. I took the opportunity to watch the parade through downtown Seattle, where thousands of fans lined the streets, cheering on their team as they passed by in a variety of trucks and vehicles. I was blown away by the turnout and response, and the joy expressed by fans from all over the northwest. I kinda wish I would have made the effort to be down there with the crowd. The scene that brought tears to my eyes was the one of Paul Allen holding up the Lombari trophy in a sea of blue/green confetti. I saw it via this video clip from KIRO TV. Watch it now! As the emotion welled up inside of me watch that video, I asked myself, "where is this emotion coming from?" 
I've had this welling up of emotion happen to me more than several times during my adult life and it seems to happen at sporting events. It hasn't been linked to a bad memory, so I'm not sure why I haven't explored it. Where will this thread take me? Where are the roots? Monique and I have been immersed in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality for over 3 years now and one of the skills to becoming emotionally healthy is "Explore the Iceberg". This is an excerise in going deep into your heart and soul, exploring the emotions that are under the surface, experience them as part of your humanity created by God and asking; "How are you coming to me God in all of these feelings? What do you want me to know about myself?" The life changing piece of this excercise is in the receiving of God's love through experiencing the emotion; even when the exploration of the iceberg is difficult. Our God is love and His love heals us. So...join me in my journey in following my emotional heart thread...see you here later this week. There is application for your marriage...trust me. 
|
Vic and MoniqueWe are all about helping your marriage thrive. 
Archives
August 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed
helping marriages thrive |
Address692 Quinnat Dr. Burlington, WA 98233
|