Bigger Than Basketball by Clint

The night before last, I was crushed. I couldn’t believe what I heard on the radio. Now is a good time to mention that I am a huge Baylor basketball fan, especially this season. I can’t exactly explain it, but for various reasons, I am really emotionally attached to this year’s team. I have watched or listened to almost every game this year. By the way, when you listen to an entire regular season men’s college basketball game on the radio, it either qualifies you as a dork or a die-hard fan. I hope I fall into the latter category. Anyways, the last two games have been devastating. We lose in the most heartbreaking ways- I’ve coined the term, Bear-ly losing. It’s not just tough losses, they’re losses that come down to the final seconds and games that we are right in position to win. The loss last night against Oklahoma was too much to handle after coming back against UT one game earlier to only throw the game away. I won’t go into all the details with the Oklahoma game, but it involves overtime, winning by four with fifteen seconds, and missed free throws. As mad as I was, I thought about the game, the season, and the past few years for Baylor men’s basketball, and I got a little needed perspective.

You probably remember the events that happened to the Baylor men’s basketball team in the summer of ’03. There was a tragic murder and a terrible scandal. The entire program had blood on its hands, as the coach and others were part of a cover up to make the victim, Patrick Dennehy, look like a drug dealer. The head coach was fired and banned from coaching in the NCAA until 2015 (He will certainly never coach in college again). Baylor’s athletic director resigned, and the school rightly imposed harsh sanctions on its own program along with the sanctions levied by the NCAA. Our program was as good as over. Realistically, it would take over ten years even to start to compete in the Big 12. The whole events were utterly tragic, and it was another black eye on a school that desires to promote Christian values and ethics.

Two days ago, I read an article about the resurgence of the Baylor men’s basketball program. The article spoke to the miraculous turn around of the program. We have competed and even beat top 25-ranked teams this year, and are in the top 6 of teams in the Big 12. The rebuilding process was one of sacrifice and hope. When Scott Drew came to coach the team, people told him he had lost his mind. When Aaron Bruce left Australia to come play for Baylor, his friends did their best to convince him not to go. They both explained why they came to Baylor. Their responses were the same. “I wanted to be part of something bigger than basketball.” And they certainly have been. Along with them, Coach Drew has had great success recruiting, and Baylor has a bright future. But even more than recruiting success and winning games, they have blessed one person more than they might ever know. Brian Brazabon, the stepfather of Patrick Dennehy, watches every game he can. He still has his son’s old jersey and he roots his heart out for Baylor as one of the only BU fans in Nevada where he lives and works. The success and sacrifice of those in the Baylor program have given him a chance to cheer for something and a chance to replay precious memories of his son.

We often forget we are part of something bigger than the work we do, the hobbies we are good at, and the people we know. We sell ourselves short and say, “Well I’m just ….” One of my favorite stories in scripture is when Peter is restored by Jesus after Jesus’ resurrection. Peter probably looked at himself as a lowly fisherman who had betrayed his friend and failed as a disciple. Yet Jesus tells him that he will feed and care for the flock, meaning he would lead those in the early Christian church. Jesus tells Peter that he will be part of something bigger than he could ever imagine. Peter must have been scared, and he must have known the road would be extremely difficult. But he wanted to be part of something bigger. In faith, if you realize you can be part of what Jesus is doing in the world, if you believe that faith can still move, you can be part of something bigger than you even know. Believe in that, and take steps of faith for the Lord.