Well, wasn't this how it was supposed to end? Tiger came to Augusta hoping to take back the throne as the rightful king of the PGA Tour. But wouldn't you know, it was a lovable Lefty who slipped on the green jacket Sunday evening. Note to Merriam-Webster: the definition of poetic justice going forward should read "2010 Masters."
It should come as no surprise that Tiger chose the Masters for his 'return-to-golf'' tournament. I use return loosely because, as Tiger said in his post-final round interview, he's isn't sure when we'll see him tee off again. For years, the hallowed grounds at golf's cathedral have been a safety net for Tiger. We've grown accustomed to seeing him deftly navigate Amen Corner. Four of Tiger's 14 Major championships have been celebrated at Butler Cabin. Since the other majors rotate venues every year, that's a pretty significant relationship with any one course. He owns the record for largest margin of victory at the Masters. He was the first African-American to win at at Augusta National. Tiger clearly wanted things to turn out differently this week. Luckily for the rest of us, they didn't.
While Tiger was busy doing things he shouldn't have been doing, Phil Mickelson was quietly taking time off from to focus on his family. When his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, there was no doubt what Phil's top priority was. For a lot of fans, Phil holds a special place in our hearts. He was unquestionably one of the top golfer's in the world for the better part of the last decade, but struggled to get the giant monkey for professionals - winning the first Major- off his back. In the end, it made him a fan favorite. We'd get our hopes up and then have our hearts broken right along with him.
Phil missed the British Open last summer and had a lackluster performance at the PGA Championship before his hiatus to tend to Amy and their kids. While he's played in a handful of tournaments since then, this was the first big one. Amy missed the first three rounds, but was able to watch from the gallery on Sunday. Bobby Jones, Augusta's co-designer, famously said that golf is primarily played on the five-and-a-half inch course between your ears. For Phil, Sunday's round was played on the course of his heart. While Tom Rinaldi and the rest of the media have been on Tiger's trail this week, Phil quietly set about winning one for his biggest fan.
Too often we lose perspective when it comes to sports - we make it into something more important than it ever should be. But we can't forget that, sometimes, we need sports to provide distraction. For golfers, tee boxes, fairways, and greens are where they feel most at home. I'm sure Tiger hoped - even if it was futile - that, if only for this week, he could come to Augusta and run away from his problems. Amy's health is Phil's problem, and that embrace at 18 told you everything you needed to know about how Lefty plays the game between his ears and in his heart.
4/11/10
4/5/10
Take me out to the ball game
"You know what we get to do today, Brooks? We get to play baseball!" Is there any ritual that symbolizes the ushering in of spring in American culture more so than baseball? If there is one, I haven't figured it out yet. Opening Day is our annual reminder that hope springs eternal. Whether your team failed to make the playoffs or your clean-up hitter struck out with the tying run on third in the bottom of the ninth to lose the seventh game of the World Series, you get to do it all over again every April.
Many people will argue, and I'd be hard pressed to disagree, that other sports have taken over as our 'national pastime'. Certainly in the South, college football is the national pastime, religion, and everything in between. But it's hard to deny that baseball still captures our hearts and imaginations in ways few other sports can. Some of the most popular sports-themed movies are about baseball. How many times have you used the phrase 'if you build it, they will come'? Without baseball as a backdrop, there's no telling where Kevin Costner's career would be today.
For a lot of people, the love of the game is something inherited from someone dear to us. I'm no different. My dad loves baseball - specifically his St. Louis Cardinals. He took me to college baseball games when I was little, taught me how to keep score, and while a lot of families spent their spring breaks at the beach, you could find us at spring training games. He took me to my first MLB game at Fenway Park, and I'm so grateful that we got to see the Cardinals play at the old Busch Stadium together. Maybe one day we'll get to see UF and FSU play in Omaha.
Baseball's public image has suffered a lot in recent years. The strike and PEDs, among other things, have done their fair share to sully the sport's reputation. But the true fans continue to stick with their teams. Baseball allegiances run deep - heaven forbid you tell a BoSox fan that curses don't exist. Allegiance is a word that's taken lightly in today's professional sports environment. But it does exist. I watched Chipper grow up as a Brave, and I admire his commitment to retire as a Brave.
So today, savor the freshly cut grass, the freshly chalked baselines, and that sweet crack of a line drive to right-center. Get excited about the new rookies who just made the cut for the 25-man roster. Enjoy the ups and downs of this roller coaster relationship. Admit that the springtime honeymoon will give way to the dog days of summer when you'll want to give up. After all, any true love will push you to the limits. Let yourself get swept up in the strategy and statistics of the game. And finally, think about how more perfect our Union would be if we could finally ratify a constitutional amendment to ban the designated hitter.
Many people will argue, and I'd be hard pressed to disagree, that other sports have taken over as our 'national pastime'. Certainly in the South, college football is the national pastime, religion, and everything in between. But it's hard to deny that baseball still captures our hearts and imaginations in ways few other sports can. Some of the most popular sports-themed movies are about baseball. How many times have you used the phrase 'if you build it, they will come'? Without baseball as a backdrop, there's no telling where Kevin Costner's career would be today.
For a lot of people, the love of the game is something inherited from someone dear to us. I'm no different. My dad loves baseball - specifically his St. Louis Cardinals. He took me to college baseball games when I was little, taught me how to keep score, and while a lot of families spent their spring breaks at the beach, you could find us at spring training games. He took me to my first MLB game at Fenway Park, and I'm so grateful that we got to see the Cardinals play at the old Busch Stadium together. Maybe one day we'll get to see UF and FSU play in Omaha.
Baseball's public image has suffered a lot in recent years. The strike and PEDs, among other things, have done their fair share to sully the sport's reputation. But the true fans continue to stick with their teams. Baseball allegiances run deep - heaven forbid you tell a BoSox fan that curses don't exist. Allegiance is a word that's taken lightly in today's professional sports environment. But it does exist. I watched Chipper grow up as a Brave, and I admire his commitment to retire as a Brave.
So today, savor the freshly cut grass, the freshly chalked baselines, and that sweet crack of a line drive to right-center. Get excited about the new rookies who just made the cut for the 25-man roster. Enjoy the ups and downs of this roller coaster relationship. Admit that the springtime honeymoon will give way to the dog days of summer when you'll want to give up. After all, any true love will push you to the limits. Let yourself get swept up in the strategy and statistics of the game. And finally, think about how more perfect our Union would be if we could finally ratify a constitutional amendment to ban the designated hitter.
4/4/10
Welcome, happy morning!
"Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth her song begin!
The round world keep high triumph and all that is therein.
Let all things seen and unseen their notes together blend.
For Christ the Lord hath risen; our joy it hath no end!"
Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen, indeed! Alleluia! For Episcopalians, this is the familiar call-and-response for the Easter season and it was so sweet to hear it ring out in church this morning. I hope that you and your families had blessed Easter Sundays celebrating the Resurrection. It was a gorgeous day in the Coastal Empire - our colder-than-usual and dreary, rainy winter has been redeemed and transformed into a bright, sunny and warm spring. Proof that redemption abounds not only in our hearts, but in every aspect of our lives. Today is only the beginning of the Great Fifty Days of Easter, and I pray that you will find your hearts and minds redeemed, renewed, and refreshed as you celebrate the ultimate triumph and grace of God's love for us. Happy Easter!
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
4/2/10
Redemption
"My song is love unknown, my Savior's love to me
love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be;
o who am I, that for my sake, my Lord should take frail flesh and die?"
The following prayer is not the Good Friday collect, but rather the closing prayer of the Good Friday liturgy. Today's liturgy is the administration of the reserved Sacrament from Thursday night, and today, more than any other day when the Eucharist is celebrated, we come close to understanding the exact definition of sacraments. Sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual graces. Good Friday is the commemoration of the ultimate act of grace and mercy. There's a Newsboys song with the line 'when we don't get what we deserve, it's a real good thing; when we get what we don't deserve, it's a real good thing.' On Good Friday, we're reminded that, through faith, we get what we have no hope of deserving and are spared what we so clearly deserve.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
4/1/10
Collect Catchup
I've missed the past few days due to spontaneous company (yay!) and awful allergies (boo), but here are Tuesday-Thursday
Thursday: O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday: Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thursday: Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thursday: O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday: Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Thursday: Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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