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A bicycle kick in itself is pretty mystifying, considering the player begins the kick with his back facing the intended target. He then hurls his head and upper body backward toward the ground while his feet and legs whip up into the place his upper body was. All of these acrobatics are an attempt to accurately strike a flying soccer ball.
Imagine executing that kind of kick while your team is trailing 1-0 in the waning seconds of a highly competitive Superliga final match.
In sports, we hear about plays, calls or even individual athletes that, in a single moment, alter the outcome of a game. We call them game-changers...
When it comes to the game of life, however, there is only one true game-changer: Jesus Christ. And once He makes that ultimate play in the heart of an athlete, it not only changes his or her life off the field, but also how they conduct themselves in competition. This fall, some of the top players on the college gridiron are telling how the Lord has made an impact on their game and how He can do the same for you.
There’s not much about Anthony Parker that isn’t unique. Among NBA starters, he’s probably the only one who can rattle off useful phrases in Hebrew — something he picked up while dominating the European League from 2000-2006. He’s also the only playoff-caliber shooting guard who really does have the potential to be shown up on the court by his little sister. (He refers to little sis, All-American Candace Parker, as the Parker.) And he may be the only person who can read or owns a TV who’ll defend the good reputation of the NBA.
Define irony:
1. A dead end sign is placed in front of a cemetery.
2. Donald Trump wins the lottery.
3. A Christian gets arrested on his way to a mission trip.
San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy is quite familiar with irony. In fact, he’s the living example of #3. But before you pass judgment, let him explain.
“I wasted a lot of years not giving God any glory,” says FCA’s Amy Marino as she reflects on her own college athletic career. “I didn’t want players on my team telling me about Christ. I didn’t feel I needed Him.” But seeing the joy that radiates from her face, you would never know there was a time when Marino’s heart wasn’t pursuing Christ.
Since her “Saul to Paul” conversion, Marino has dedicated her role as an FCA representative at the University of Illinois to leaving a mark on a new generation of athletes.
For the past 55 years, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been on a mission to spread the name of Christ in the athletic community. Its vision: “To see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches.” It’s a quest the ministry has been pursuing with a Godbreathed success that has led to spiritual growth throughout the sports community. Yet, to this point, FCA has largely been focused on the United States. Last summer, those borders got a little bit wider.
This month, as college football bowl games flood your television, let yourself get sucked in. Just make sure you have read below or your STV is close by. You’ll want to refer back to this article when you see a player score a touchdown and kneel in prayer. “Maybe he helps out with his FCA Huddle,” you’ll wonder.
If he’s found below or inside the magazine, the answer is yes.
We are profiling the athletes who are owning leadership roles both on and off the field. They are actively involved in their FCA Huddles and chapels and are setting positive examples for young fans to follow. We'll start with Heisman-hopeful Sam Bradford, and he is just the beginning of this tremendous list of athletes.
The face of the Houston Astros has changed.
Jeff Bagwell has been retired for nearly four years. Craig Biggio bid farewell to Minute Maid Park after the 2007 season. And last year, fan favorite Brad Ausmus packed up his catcher's gear and opted to close out his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Houston is officially Lance Berkman's team. And he's OK with that.
You shouldn't need to consult an atlas to know that Las Vegas and Harrisonburg, Va., are pretty far apart. Not only are they separated by miles — 1,989 to be exact — but also by climate, terrain and, most notably, lifestyle.
But God's power is not restricted by earthly distances. He gives each of us the ability to touch lives no matter what our location, especially in today's connected society. In the case of James Madison University basketball player Heiden Ratner, who hails from Vegas and attends college in Harrisonburg, there is one athlete influencing lives for Christ on both sides of the country. It is a calling he received neither in Vegas nor Virginia, but in a small town in northern Georgia called Lookout Mountain.
As Ryan Hall's relationship with Jesus has grown, so has his understanding of excellence. Part of his early struggles as a runner were based on the identity crisis that often takes place for those sports competitors who have highly measurable templates for success.
"The world's definition of excellence is just based on performance," Hall says. "As soon as you're not performing, no one wants to talk to you anymore in the media, and it's easy to get down on yourself. It's all wrapped up in performance. It's like building your house on the sand. It's very changing and fleeting, and eventually it's going to be gone, because no one is always on top of their game.
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