I wanted to take this time to talk about momentum. I’ll be short, but knowing me I may follow up with something more verbose.
https://zchg.org/hott/late%20episodes/499%20-%207-Dec-94%20-%20Kansas%20City%20Resolution.mp3
TRANSCRIPT of same: https://zchg.org/hott/transcripts/499%2520-%2520Kansas%2520City%2520Resolution.txt
Momentum.
In sport, as in war, attitude is everything. Even a world-class team can fall behind on the scoreboard, time-to-time. It might not even be the fault of the team, not really, as a world-class team fighting against another world-class team will fall in and out due to plain and simple scoreboard drift.
What matters the most is what a championship team does with that scoreboard drift.
A winning team doesn’t lose spirit until the buzzer. Anything less than the champion’s heart gives up a bit early, even if it’s ten seconds before the buzzer. Even if you’re down by 100. A champion’s heart doesn’t care what’s on the scoreboard, a champion’s heart has the experience, resolve, and mastery to understand that it’s not over until the last champion’s heart gives out. Not the first champion, the LAST champion’s heart.
And should even one champion decide it’s not time to call it in, the world is the oyster of that LAST champion. Period. The end. Believe it, I’ve seen it.
If even one person on an inferior team quits, the rest of the team folds up like a house of cards. Sure as shit.
But a championship team understands that the content of character of each individual serving the team outweighs even the seemingly strongest heart giving out.
For in war, even seemingly strongest hearts may give out. They might not see something the rest of the team sees, or they may just have caught a moment of weakness. Or they might not be the real heart of the team.
This is the opportunity for the real iron will to begin. This is the opportunity for the real champion’s heart to begin taking what belongs.
When I was playing water polo with my best friend Nick against the superior Denver team, our little motley crew known as CSU was going to lose. That’s what everyone thought.
And that was precisely the opportunity my friend Nick took. And I really mean stole from the clutches of sure victory.
The clock had one second left. We were down by one. The other team’s goalie began to look towards the refreshments and was probably starting to think about the celebratory spirits.
And my friend Nick just didn’t want to quit. Not that day. Not that day.
From our own net, one who believed he could do it passes him one sliver of a doubt’s chance. Without time for hesitation, he lobs it all. Into the air it soars. Higher and farther than I knew a water polo ball could be thrown with any kind of accuracy. He lobs that cannonball with all the spirit of his ancestors as though the gates of hades itself had fortified for it and even still would find itself smashed wide open by shear destiny.
And the goalie catches it coming out of the corner of his eyes, beginning to turn. But it’s too late.
Nick landed one. Right there in the uprights of the net. As pure as diamonds, he was, his best toss he could never have ordinarily mustered beside his usual self.
He bulldozed that thing so hard it could have easily missed and bent the frame had he started any closer but the furthest away.
Not this day, he said to himself. Not this day.
The goalie tried as he might was already defeated by his own momentum. He couldn’t turn around in time. He wasn’t playing like a champion.
But Nick was.
Nick bought us the overtime conversion. Not when everyone thought he could, but when everyone, and I mean everyone but Nick and that friend of a champion who passed him the ball thought he couldn’t.
And he did. And so, he did.
When you’re considering losing heart, don’t. When it’s time to quit, keep going. You might be the one factor that nobody else factored in when it’s time to convert.
Champion.
But you know what else? It wasn’t the team what gave him that ball. All the rest had permitted themselves to slide out from perceived momentum.
It was one other man.
There were two champions on that day. And if either hadn’t been there, right time, right place, things could have turned out a lot differently.
Two champion’s hearts were there that day to wipe clean and even the score. The rest is history for all eternity to reflect.
4 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
https://forum.zchg.org/t/when-whistleblowers-must-go-public/765/4
GOD WINS!
