Luxury Suites, The Raiders, My Baby, and Me

God could not have provided a better day. Well...okay...there could have been world peace, an end to poverty, and everyone on earth could have come to know Him. But, on a purely personal level, I could not have asked for more.

On an absolutely gorgeous Sunday afternoon, my wife and I made our way over to McAfee Coliseum after church. While everyone else was forced to park in the fields across the freeway and walk back to the stadium, we breezed into the VIP parking lot (following a limo) to park right next to the stadium.

"Yes, officer. I have a VIP pass."

"Oh, right this way, sir. Just bypass around all the traffic and disregard the signs advising the parking lot is full."

After a very brief walk into the stadium through the VIP entrance, we checked out the VIP concourse. In addition to sports bars and upscale restaurants, we watched as former Raider greats Gene Upshaw and Greg Townsend met some fans and were interviewed on TV.

From there, we went up to our Luxury Suite. It's like entering a hotel, complete with a plush lobby and a lounge area.

Our suite had a private bathroom (with granite counter tops), a full kitchen, lounge area (with couches, chairs, and four TV monitors to watch games around the league), and plush seats overlooking the 40 yard line. The view was amazing.

As the game began, we dined (in luxury suites you don't eat; you dine) on tri-tip sandwiches, garlic mash potatoes, and slaw.

Oh, you're too hot in the sun? Well, then let me turn on some air conditioning.

The game was awesome! The Raiders looked like they knew what they were doing and crushed the Cardinals (Okay...so it was the Cardinals - a win is a win! Next week, we could play Vanden High for all I care.). And Randy Moss actually caught some passes including one for a touchdown. And he dropped some too.

And then, shortly after the half, the door to our luxury suite opens and in walks former Raider wide receiver Cliff Branch! He just walked right in! "Hey, everybody! I just stopped by to say hi!" Cliff Branch! He hung out with us for 20 or 30 minutes!

Man...What a day!

But the best was sharing it with my wife. I don't know that we'll ever have that experience again. But, God sure blessed us on that day. We hung out, ate good food, enjoyed each other, enjoyed a Raider victory, and had a fantastic time! I thank God for the opportunity. And I thank God for her. There's nobody else I would have rather spent the day with.

ADDENDUM:
My dad was at the game as well. He and his cronies from the vets home in Yountville were up in the nosebleed seats at the back of one of the end zones. I called him on his cell to rub it in how good we had it in the luxury suites. My dad is no longer speaking to me.

Hit and Run Commentary

Remember the golden rule of multiple choice tests? Don't change your answer. Your first choice is almost always right.

Being a consumate people watcher, I find it a bit odd the amount of hit and run commentary my blog receives.

It's those who make comments in a fleeting moment of intestinal fortitude I'm referring to. They get hyped up about something that was written and respond with what they really want to say.

And then reality sets in.

So they delete their truth, sometimes replacing it with something softer. Or, sometimes they don't replace it at all. Either way, their real thoughts are lost.

I don't know why I find that sad. When I go back and read some of my comments on other blogs or my postings on this blog, I often cringe at what I wrote. Did I really write that? Yeesh! What was I thinking?

But my preference is to leave my original thought. Let the world know what I was thinking at that moment. I've been wrong before. And, mathematically, the chances are I'll be wrong again. I'm okay with that. No sense in hiding from the truth.

Of God and Football

Okay, so this picture is from last season. But, I needed a picture of Mark Brunell and I couldn't bring myself to post one of him beating the Raiders. I much prefer to see him being sacked by a used-to-be-good Raider defense. Hey, it's my blog! I'll live in the past if I want to! Anyway, it goes with the post.

I've been thinking about sports and how they fit into God's plan for us. Do I have it all wrong? Is it selfish of me to enjoy watching a game or talk about game stats with my friends when there are people dying every second who don't know Jesus Christ as their personal savior? What's the purpose of it? Or, is there a purpose?

I've told this story before, but it's worth repeating (besides, I'm old and that's what old people do; they repeat their stories). During the World Series in 2002, I was part of the United States Air Force Color Guard that posted the flags during the pre-game singing of the National Anthem in San Francisco. For our performance, the Giants furnished my team with tickets in the outfield bleachers for the series.

Because it was the World Series and the stadium was obviously sold out, not all of the seats were in one area. Two of us had to volunteer to sit away from the rest of the team. And that's how I found myself sitting in the outfield bleachers at the World Series with a friend of mine. Like me, Jon is also a Christian. And, like me, Jon is an avid sports fan (although, unlike me, he likes the Angels and the Broncos - go figure).

Anyway, one thing led to another and soon Jon and I began to talk about God and sports and the reason for stadiums that will hold umpteen thousand people for a game. Pretty soon, our conversation was joined by those sitting around us. People to our front, back, and sides, all at the World Series and all talking about God and how He fits into the picture.

As I sit here now, I wonder how far that conversation spread. If people around us joined in, did people around the people who were around us join in as well? God was there not just in Spirit, but He revealed Himself through the unity of people. They were not all Christians around us. And somebody probably needed to hear what was said that day.

Here's another story and the reason for the picture of Mark Brunell.

On any given Sunday, members of the Jacksonville Jaguars form a huddle – around a Bible. What began in 1996 as a Bible study in the living room of Mark Brunell, the Jaguars' quarterback (now with the Washington Redskins), has grown into a 1000-member congregation. They just purchased a 150-acre plot of land on which they plan on building a church to accommodate their growing numbers. One player and church member, Brian Schwartz, even left the NFL to become a full-time preacher at another church in Texas.

During the 1996 football season, and periodically during the off-season, the group met every two weeks, and then every week during the 1997 football season. By this time, the living-room bible study group had begun to grow, attracting football players and people from the Jacksonville community alike. By 1999, the group numbered over 200 people and Southpoint Community Church was officially founded in the ballroom of theMarriottt Hotel in Jacksonville.

I guess my point to all this is that God can use anything to bring people into a relationship with Him. Sports is certainly a subject that most men can relate to (and many women too - I know, I know). So, why not use sports as a catalyst to bring people together?

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 8:15

When I read this passage, I hear God telling me to enjoy life. Yes, I have to work. Yes, I have to live my life to serve Him. But, that doesn't mean rejecting the blessings and escapes He places in front of me. I like my life and appreciate the blessings He provides.

I don't get to watch much football anymore. Sunday evenings are just about the only games I can catch. We have church Sunday mornings and Bible study on Monday evenings, so all those games are out. But, I'm okay with that.

When God gives me a moment to relax in front of the TV or talk some sports smack with friends, I'll take what I can get. As long as He comes first, I will continue to enjoy whatever He gives me.

Multi-Million Dollar Prima Donnas

This is the play that epitomizes the Raider's season in 2006. In the same game that saw Randy Moss catching his 100th career touchdown, he also dropped this pass in the paint. The Raiders had to settle for three points on a field goal instead.

And Jerry Porter watches from the sidelines.

Once again, the Raiders couldn't put an opponent away after leading at the half. Four interceptions by two quarterbacks, LaMont Jordan standing there looking at the ball after he dropped a lateral pass and allowing a defender to pick it up and score, a blocked punt, and a coaching staff that couldn't gameplan for the local Pop Warner team - that's the Oakland Raiders in 2006.

And Jerry Porter watches from the sidelines.

I've already taken a larger interest in college football this year as a way to scout who the Raiders should pick with their number one choice in the draft next year. Yes, it's that bad.

And Jerry Porter watches from the sidelines.

Okay, so go ahead and gloat Niner fans. You deserve it. I can dish it out and I can take it.

As one ESPN writer put it, "...these bragging rights aren't worth much. The teams are at perhaps the lowest collective point in their histories, with three straight losing seasons apiece."

Perhaps I should have called this post Who's the Best Loser by the Bay?