Category Pop Culture

Sep 3 2015

Another Football Season: Roll Tide, War Eagle, and Other Such Nonsense

go-sports

Well, it’s that time again.

Time to sit and watch hours upon hours of football.  Grab the chips and salsa.  Grab the cooler.  Grab the wings.

And sadly, in these days, time to grab your smartphone, click on your social media app, and give everyone a play by play of how your team is doing.  If things are going your way, you rub it in everyone’s newsfeed.  If your team is doing terrible, you’re mysteriously silent.  If your team catches up, it’s the greatest comeback in the history of anything.

Football + Social media tends to make harmless, normal, loving people into obnoxious jerks.

We all seem to think our team is the best.  And the other team is the worst.

We all become experts on all things football.

And we all become like Weird Al in his “Sports Song” (by the way, I don’t condone the use of the word “sucks” but the rest of the video is hilarious).  Watch the video below, and then continue reading:

Each year, I make a formal proclamation at the beginning of the football season on my Facebook page.

See, I am what’s known as an Alabama fan.  And I’m a recovering fan-a-holic.

The past few years, I’ve made this statement on my page:

“Football season is here. I love watching college and the pros. As I have done for the past few years I am vowing not to make any Crimson Tide comments throughout the year. While many college football comments are harmless – often times people get carried away on social media and end up insulting others with their comments. So until the last snap of the year – Roll Tide! Go SEC!!”

 We need to be careful how we come across in our fanaticism.  I love being an Alabama fan.  I’m a Yankees fan.  I’m a Titans fan.  I love my “sports teams” and think they’re the greatest.  But we just need to remember how we come across as we’re posting our comments.
Love your team, but love others.
Jul 7 2011

The Blind Man Stood By

I have to preface this post.  I have never been a big fan of U2, not because I have anything against them, but because I’ve just never gotten into their music.  However, I do know that Bono is probably one of the kindest, most compassionate men that is walking the face of the earth in this present day.

Recently, my good friend Jason Bybee went to a U2 concert in Nashville.  You can read of his previous attempts to make it to a U2 show HERE.  On several occasions Jason has offered up some great suggestions for must have music for my iPod, so I was eager to talk to him after the concert to see how it went, and to see if I could finally get into U2.  This time, Jason had nothing to do with me becoming a fan of U2 and new music.  It was the artist himself that forever changed my impression of this dynamic band.  Read the article below:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A blind man from Arizona had a lifelong dream come true when he was invited by Bono to jam with Irish rock band U2 on stage, myFOXphoenix.com reported Tuesday.

Adam Bevell, who started losing his sight at the age of 14, caught Bono’s attention at a U2 concert in Nashville over the long weekend.

Towards the close of the show, the band’s frontman spotted Bevell holding a sign declaring “blind guitar player,” indicating that the fan wanted to play and dedicate a song to his wife.

“[Bono] said ‘C’mon up here. Get this dude a guitar,’ and I thought no way man, there’s no way this is happening,” Bevell recalled.

Bono of U2.

INFphoto.com
Bono of U2.

“Dude’s gonna play some guitar,” Bono told the crowd.

With some help from Bono, Bevell performed his favorite song “All I Want Is You.”

“It was the greatest feeling knowing that I was playing with the greatest rock star in the world but he didn’t make me feel like that at all, he made me feel like we were in our living room,” Bevell said, adding that playing with U2 was something he had on his bucket list.

Bono is known for his generosity and humanitarian work around the world and he did not disappoint in this case — he let Bevell keep the guitar.

Bevell, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, has been to at least 20 U2 concerts over the years.

 

You can watch the whole performance by watching the video below:

This guy was given a gift at the end of this wonderful ride of a lifetime that no one else can say they’ve ever received, and that’s pretty cool.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take an opportunity here to make a correlation between this and a similar gift that I’ve received.  The greatest and most compassionate man to EVER walk on the face of the earth gave me an even better gift.  Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Savior, gave me a few things – his life, his heart, and salvation for an eternity – and I think that trumps the guitar.  The cool thing about the gift that Jesus gave me is that its not just for me, but its for us all.

 

Feb 22 2011

Bieber Fever? A Confession…

I’m a fan of Justin Bieber.  There, I got that out of the way.

But, I’ve never once listened to any of his music.  I’ve never read any lyrics to his songs.  I couldn’t tell you the name of one his songs.  But I’m a big fan.

I know I may get ridiculed for having “Bieber Fever”, but I really don’t care.  The kid is just awesome.

In a society of teen pop culture icons, its good to see that so far, one of them has kept their head on straight.  After seeing the downfalls of so many going from child star to young adult inmate, its refreshing to see that Justin, to this point, has not met that demise.  I hope that he won’t ever fall from where he is right now.

Recently on Extreme Home Makeover, Justin Bieber was a guest star in support of a family who lost their daughter to texting while driving.  You can read more about that episode by clicking HERE. That night, he had a concert and invited the younger sister of the victim to be his guest of honor.  Being a young teenager, she was thrilled, and got to bring along several friends.  She had a private pre concert party with Bieber, and then Justin told her that $1 from every ticket sold that night was going to help their cause of stopping teens from texting and driving.  It was that night I became intrigued as to how such a young guy could have such a big heart.  Since then I have found out about several other things he does to help out.

Last summer, Bieber gave a sizable donation to victims of the Nashville Floods.  He speaks out against bullying in school.  He donates to the Children’s Miracle Network.  $1 from every ticket sale to all of his concerts goes to Pencils of Promise, an organization that builds schools for third world countries.  A simple google search will reveal many charities he helps out with, and he seems to be always looking for a way to help.

As a parent of a young child, I hope that future child and teen stars can look to him as a way to get it right.  I know he was raised right.  Recently, Bieber’s mom issued a public prayer request to ask all his fans to pray that he would continue in the ways he seems to be headed, and not be influenced in a negative way by his fame and fortune.