Football Insanity

I’m just now getting in the car after the Redskins vs. Cowboys football game. These are two rival teams which we’ve (the Redskins) lost against for the past bunch of years. Well, this year we won the first game (just barely). Now we’re coming off yet another win, 35 – 7.

What amazed me this game was the insane amount of energy within the stadium. FedEx field (where the Redskins play) seats the most number of fans in the NFL, at an insane 93 thousand people… Yeah, that’s 93,000. I don’t even have that many pennies to rub together.

So, imagine a room full of friends at a party all yelling together at the middle of the room. Now intensify that by 1,000. I’ve never heard it so loud. My shouting was drowned out by the people around me, and if you know me, that’s pretty impressive.

On top of it there was a sheer insane intensity from the fans. People were actually really nice to each-other, compared to our losing seasons where I always saw at least one or two bloody fights being broken up during a Cowboys or Eagles game. Everyone was just focused on the field and what was going on there.

We’d get a touchdown and high fives and high tens went all around. We’d sing the Redskins song at the top of our lungs!

Hail to the Redskins
Hail victory
Braves on the warpath
Fight for old DC

Blah, blah, blah
Bl-blah blah blah
Blah blah blah
(thank goodness they put the real words up on the scoreboard)

Blah, blah, blah
Bl-blah blah blah
Blah blah blah
(again, a scoreboard with words is great!)

Fight on, fight on
Till we have won
For old Wash-ing-ton

Hail to the Redskins
Hail victory
Braves on the warpath
Fight for old DC

The whole stadium is singing together, clapping and cheering.

Any time the Redskins had the ball we were quiet. But it was an electrifying quiet. You could feel the energy pouring out onto the field, people were just wired. We didn’t sit for more than 30 minutes during the whole game, and that included a 15 minute half-time show.

I was just amazed to see the incredible push and activity from everyone. People clapping strangers’ shoulders, jumping around and just being insane about this one game.

Even when Randy Thomas broke his ankle, some players went over and prayed with him, the stadium was quiet for the entire time (usually about 5 – 10 minutes, forever in stadium time) and everyone was just pushing their good thoughts and prayers. When the cart began driving him off everyone was cheering “Randy! Randy! Randy!” (again, something I’ve never heard, we just cheer or clap). Even when the Cowboys player was hurt near the end, though the stadium was emptying out, people still sat and looked worried about him.

Why don’t we bring this same intensity to the other areas of our life?

When you go to work, do you and your co-workers get pumped and excited for the work you’re doing as a team? If someone gets hurt do you all band together to help them?

When you’re at church do you grab the people around you and just cheer on God? Do you jump up and down and push for people to take part in some church activity?

Do you tell your friends how needed they are? Even in the “normal” times, do you pray or keep each friend in your thoughts throughout the day?

Do you go home in the evening and show your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend how insane you are for them? Do you high-five the whole family when you kids do something special? Do you tell the world how awesome the people around you are?

At Christmas and beyond I’d love it for you to really bring that insanity to your life. Let the intense energy come off of you to build up everyone, people in your life or strangers around you.

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

posted by Tom at 8:00 PM