The high school football game was between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School. Faith is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility.
Gainesville State School'ss 14 players play every game on the road, and going into the game against Faith Christian, their record was 0-8. Up to that point, Gainesville had only scored twice.
The Gainesville players are teenagers convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery. Their equipment is old and outdated, and they play simply for the opportunity to gain a little freedom on a Friday Night.
Faith Academy was heavily favored, with a record of 7-2. They had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment.
Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy, knew the Gainesville team would have no fans and it would be no contest, so he thought, "What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only, cheered for the other team?" He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send," Hogan wrote. "You're just as valuable as any other person on the planet."
Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said, "Coach, why are we doing this?" Hogan said, "Imagine you don't have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."
The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors' stands were full. The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were calling them by their names. Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker said, "I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling for us. They knew our names."
Faith won the game, and after the game the teams gathered at the 50-yard line to pray. That's when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray . he prayed, "Lord, I don't know what just happened so I don't know how or who to say thank you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world who cared about us." On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of the players was handed a burger, fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy .
What an incredible act of Christian witness and kindness and goodness that was. Proverbs 11:17 says, "Your own soul is nourished when you are kind." Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good when it is in your power to act."
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
3 comments:
As one looks around these days, they could almost be excused for seeing only hate and sadness. but as always, just when things look the bleakest, man's goodness comes shining through! Chris hogan is a true hero in every sense of the word as are the parents, students and fans of Faith Academy. Once again an action that restores one's faith in humanity!
With your permission I am reposting this on my blog. This is the kind of story and message that has to be repeated over and over!
Please do. This kind of thing needs to be spread far and wide.
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