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2008 Football Rumblings

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Buckeyes spend off week doing something a little bit different


October 30, 1:41
by Andy Zoric, Ohio State Buckeyes Examiner




After a tough loss to Big Ten rival Penn State in an epic defensive struggle the Buckeyes enter a bye week with something other than football to occupy their time. Monday Night at Ohio State?s St. John Arena Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and several players attended ?The Main Event.? Yes, even though ?The Animal? Joe Laurinaitis was there in face paint this had nothing to do with professional wrestling. Instead, this is a Christian ministry effort by the Buckeye coach and several players to promote faith through celebrity.

The 90-minute event featured players both past and present, the coach, members of the marching band, cheerleaders and of course ?The Animal?. Players at the event included Malcom Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman and 2006-graduate-turned-motivational-speaker defensive tackle Joel Penton.

During the course of this Christian pep rally Marcus Freeman was quoted as saying ?We?re not football players who are Christians; we are Christians who play football.? Freeman also recounted a story about being down big in a game and he and the other Christian players on the team would remind each other that though things look bleak they?re still going to heaven.

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That was an interesting article. I had often wondered why Freeman seemed to be the guy standing in the middle of the circle during the end of the game saying the prayer. I guess I know the reason now then he has always the one to do that. He is a great example for young kids.
 
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Freeman also recounted a story about being down big in a game and he and the other Christian players on the team would remind each other that though things look bleak they?re still going to heaven.
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While I applaud these coaches and players for having enough conviction to share their beliefs publically, I must admit that this story from Freeman seems rather severe. It's a game. It's not a matter of life or death. But that's just me. Even when I was a Christian, I never took it to such an extreme in cases of non-fatal consequences. Oh well.
 
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muffler dragon;1311228; said:
While I applaud these coaches and players for having enough conviction to share their beliefs publically, I must admit that this story from Freeman seems rather severe. It's a game. It's not a matter of life or death. But that's just me. Even when I was a Christian, I never took it to such an extreme in cases of non-fatal consequences. Oh well.
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Dude, I think that's exactly Freeman's point...when you're in the middle of a huge game, you tend to feel like it's the most important thing in the world at that moment. Freeman was merely putting life in perspective by saying it's just a game...that his faith, not football should define his life.
 
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Oh8ch;1311239; said:
Blaspheme!

(I didn't find that quote "severe". It was somewhere between frightening and chuckleworthy.)
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I can understand that. That said, I am a heretic. Thus, I blaspheme. :biggrin:

buckeyes_rock;1311243; said:
Dude, I think that's exactly Freeman's point...when you're in the middle of a huge game, you tend to feel like it's the most important thing in the world at that moment. Freeman was merely putting life in perspective by saying it's just a game...that his faith, not football should define his life.
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I guess I'm just not reading it the same. No big deal.
 
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muffler dragon;1311228; said:
While I applaud these coaches and players for having enough conviction to share their beliefs publically, I must admit that this story from Freeman seems rather severe. It's a game. It's not a matter of life or death. But that's just me. Even when I was a Christian, I never took it to such an extreme in cases of non-fatal consequences. Oh well.
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I think you're probably misinterpreting or trying to put too much thought into what Freeman is saying. I interpret it that no matter what the score of a football game is and no matter the outcome the players will all end up in heaven. That's just my interpretation and I think all of us, or a vast majority, would interpret his statement in different ways.
 
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LitlBuck;1311264; said:
I think you're probably misinterpreting or trying to put too much thought into what Freeman is saying. I interpret it that no matter what the score of a football game is and no matter the outcome the players will all end up in heaven. That's just my interpretation and I think all of us, or a vast majority, would interpret his statement in different ways.
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I can appreciate that. Different perspectives abound.

I was thinking about it in my world today, and I have to admit that I found myself laughing at myself: "IF I'm behind a deadline at work that is due today, THEN just remember that I'm going to heaven." This isn't to disparage those who believe the same as Freeman nor Freeman himself. It's just interesting for introspection.

Time to get myself prepped for that quadruple bypass. :tongue2:
 
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Freeman was merely putting life in perspective by saying it's just a game...
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And my reading is that the mere notion that one needs to compare eternal life to the outcome of a football game suggests a lack of perspective.

The irony is that to trigger the adrenaline one might need to pull out a game you need to send a signal to the almighty amygdala that your very salvation is indeed on the line. Walking to the LOS with an aura of peace that surpasses all understanding doesn't generally fill the bill for a linebacker.

That said, I am being unfair in reading too much into what Freeman meant based on a one sentence excerpt.
 
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And my reading is that the mere notion that one needs to compare eternal life to the outcome of a football game suggests a lack of perspective.
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others would say treating them as mutually exclusive suggests a lack of perspective.
The irony is that to trigger the adrenaline one might need to pull out a game you need to send a signal to the almighty amygdala that your very salvation is indeed on the line. Walking to the LOS with an aura of peace that surpasses all understanding doesn't generally fill the bill for a linebacker.
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So you prefer despair, that which he's guarding against? I know what you're getting at, but by this point in their careers, that certainly has grown into a pretty formidable monkey on their back. Perhaps getting past that is more crucial.

There's also the matter of whether the other approaches have worked thus far. Given how LSU & USC went after they trailed, a different approach might be warranted.
 
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