College Football and Emotions

College football started with a "bang" last night. Maybe I should say that it started with a "punch". After the late night match up between Boise State and Oregon one of the Oregon players (LeGarrette Blount) took a swing at a Boise State player (Byron Hout) and landed a punch on his chin. It will provide lots of coaches with fodder for inspirational talks about sportsmanship (and the lack thereof) this year. I saw a brief interview with the Oregon's Coach Kelly this morning. Obviously he was not pleased with the way his player represented the university. One of his comments stuck with me. He said that he wanted his players to "play with emotion, but not let emotion play with them". His statement has a solid theological foundation. As we enter a study of Judges on Sunday morning we will see examples of how great leaders get in trouble when they are played by their emotions. You won't hear me advocate an "emotionless" life. (Come watch me at one of Nick's games!)However, when our emotions change, and they frequently do, we need to remain true to the core principles of life. If anyone had asked LeGarrette Blount before the game whether he would punch another player or not, I'm sure he would have said "no". And, to his credit, he apologized after the incident. I'm not picking on Blount. In fact, it appears that Hout was showing very poor sportsmanship by provoking Blount. I am acknowledging a problem that is hardly new. It is not an easy path to develop our strength of character so that we can resist temptations in the moment. But, it is imperative that we do so.