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March Madness
Paloten College is nestled in the green and rolling hills of
Tennessee. With only a few hundred students who came to the college for
its renowned music and art program, the sport of basketball was of
little importance. Paloten's basketball team had lost every game for the
last three years and no one cared. The players didn't care. The coach
didn't care. The students didn't care. The college was part of a sports
conference made up of similar-sized colleges but with vastly different
attitudes about sports and winning than the attitudes at Paloten. It was
the last game of the season and the game was a relief for the Paloten
players because the players could suspend practice and would not have to
face humiliating jokes from family and friends about the longest losing
streak in Paloten's history. Remarkably, in this last game of the
season, the score was tied with 1:13 showing on the clock. With the
score tied, there was a chance Paloten might actually win the game.
Rich Pappen was a starting guard for the Paloten team and was
selected by the players as the team captain. As the clock wound down,
the other Paloten guard passed Rich the ball but as the ball got midway
between the other guard and Rich, everything stopped. Everything froze.
Nothing moved. All the sound and crowd noise stopped. The ball stopped
moving in mid-air. All the players quit moving and were frozen in place.
The cheerleaders were frozen in mid-air as they were about to hit the
floor from doing a cheer. The few fans in the stands were frozen in
place and were unmoving. The game clock stopped moving. The second hand
on the regular clock on the wall stopped moving. No one, and no thing
was moving anywhere, except for Rich. Stunned beyond belief, Rich looked
around and could not believe what he was seeing. A few seconds after
everything froze, one man stood up in the stands, walked down to the
floor, and called Rich's name. The man from the stands walked out on the
floor and said to Rich, "Don't worry, they can't see either of us
or hear us. Everyone and everything is frozen in time. For all intents
and purposes, time has stopped everywhere in the universe. But first,
let me identify myself. My name is John Discanten, and I am from the
future. I know you are stunned by all of this, with everything being
frozen and all, but I shall explain. Now I want you to look over at your
bench. Sitting on your bench is a kid you call, Squeaker. In fact,
Squeaker is the reason everything has been frozen in place. I have come
from the future because in the future, millions of people will die, but
Squeaker, because of his life and work, can save them. In fact Rich,
your great, great, great, great grandchild will die without Squeaker
doing his vital research in bio-chemistry. You see, Rich, Squeaker is a
genius. Oh, he may not appear to be a genius now. He only gets B's and
C's in his classes here in college. However, Squeaker's genius is hidden
because Squeaker knows nothing about winning. Squeaker knows nothing
about victory. All Squeaker knows anything about is losing. And winning
and losing is why everything has been frozen. I have come back in time
from the future to get you to win this game. If you win this game, your
winning will inspire Squeaker to finish a little research paper Squeaker
is working on in his chemistry class. If you win the game and the
victory inspires Squeaker, Squeaker will get the first "A" of
his college career. Then, with the winning and with the "A",
Squeaker will have the motivation to actually use his genius in the
field of chemistry although right now he is a graphic arts major.
Squeaker's genius will produce an invention or development in the field
of bio-chemistry that will lay unused and dormant for eighty years.
Squeaker will die and never know his invention will ever be used. But
Squeaker's invention will save the lives of millions in the future, long
after Squeaker is gone. If you lose this game, Squeaker does not get an
"A", Squeaker does not go on to develop an invention, and
millions will perish." Not only was Rich stunned, he was
double-stunned. Almost without the ability to speak, Rich blurted out,
"Wait, no, wait, this can't be happening. This is just a dream. No,
no, wait it can't be." Waiting for a few seconds, John said,
"I realize all this seems a bit far-fetched and totally
unbelievable. Those of us who go back have this kind of response all the
time when we freeze things up like this. But you do not need to believe
me. You do have to trust me and you do have to do absolutely everything
in your power to win the game. It is critical to save lives, millions of
lives, even if you do not believe me, for you to win the game. Losing
for you and for Squeaker has become a habit. Everyone on your team
expects to lose. It is as if you have your own form of March Madness.
The only problem is your madness really is madness. The madness of
losing is a madness that distorts your reality and causes bad things to
happen because you never expect to win. After the game, after you have
won, you will be able to verify with Squeaker about the paper he is
doing in his chemistry class. Of course, Squeaker does not know about
his invention, for the invention comes many years into the future. What
Squeaker needs to know right now is winning is possible." Rich
stared at John and then looked over at the bench where Squeaker was
sitting. Squeaker, frozen in time like everyone and everything else, was
not even watching the game. Squeaker had his back turned toward the
players on the floor and was waving at someone in the stands. Rich
thought, how pathetic. Rich turned to John and said, "I don't
believe you, but just in case you are telling the truth, what do you
want me to do." John said, "OK, here is what you do. You will
get the ball from the other guard on your team. Pass the ball to your
center, and fake left to get the man guarding you off balance and then
run by your center as if you are going for a lay-up. Your center will
pass you the ball as you run by. You can hit a lay-up. The guy guarding
your center will come at you as you try to shoot, so fake him out first
then put up the shot. If you miss the shot, your center should be able
to rebound the ball. Whatever you do, make sure you hit the rim so the
shot clock will reset if you miss. There are two full 30-second
possessions plus a few seconds more left on the clock. Whether you make
or miss the basket, guard the player who takes the ball up the court for
the other team from the time the player gets the ball. I cannot control
what happens on the court and I cannot predict any outcomes. However,
from what I observed in previous play, you may have an opportunity to
steal the ball. If you steal the ball, run down to your end of the
floor, and hit a lay-up after making the steal. If you hit two lay-ups
you will be one point ahead even if the other team hits a three pointer.
Now listen carefully. I am going to go back up into the stands. As soon
as I sit down, play will resume as if nothing happened. No one will know
anything about being frozen in time. Be sure and turn toward the ball
and don't look at me. Good luck." John walked off the floor and up
into the stands. John turned to sit down and Rich turned to where the
ball was frozen in mid-air. Suddenly, everything came back to life. Rich
caught the ball, dribbled right and dribbled left. The center came open
and Rich passed the ball to the center. Rich did a head and shoulder
fake and ran past the man guarding him. Just as Rich got under the
basket, the center passed Rich the ball, and Rich shot a lay-up. The
ball bounced all over the rim for what seemed like an eternity. Finally
the ball fell into the net. The small crowd roared. Even Squeaker was
paying attention. The best ball handler for the other team quickly
charged up the floor, but at about the ten second line, the ball took an
odd bounce in Rich's direction. Rich grabbed the ball and headed down
the floor unguarded. As Rich got under his own basket, he pushed the
ball up toward the backboard and waited for the ball to fall into the
goal. The ball bounced off the backboard but only hit the back of the
rim and did not go through the net. Rich grabbed for the ball but an
opposing player got to the ball first and took the ball up the court.
Rich guarded the opposing player as closely as possible but
unfortunately a foul was called on Rich. The opposing player had just
made 12 free throws in a row and things were looking like another loss
could take place. If the player shooting the foul shot made both free
throws, at the very least the score would be tied and Rich's team would
get the ball back. The home crowd, along with Squeaker, was now standing
and screaming at the opposing player to miss the free throw. The
opposing player shot the first free throw and the shot went in. The lead
was now only one point. Rich's coach should have called time out to
freeze the player shooting the free throw, but since the coach didn't
care about winning, no time out was called. The opposing player shot the
second free throw and the second free shot went in. The score was tied.
Rich took the ball out of bounds and passed the ball to his teammate
playing guard. As Rich got near the ten second line, Rich received a
pass and quickly ran across the ten second line to avoid a ten second
penalty. There were 35 seconds showing on the clock. Rich dribbled from
one sideline to the other sideline. Rich saw his center come open and
passed the ball to the center. As Rich ran toward the basket to get a
rebound, the center turned and lofted the ball gently toward the basket.
The ball bounced off the side of the rim to the right. As the ball got
midway between the basket and the floor, Rich jumped for the ball and in
one motion, pushed the ball back up toward the goal. As the clock
expired, the ball rolled around the rim three times and fell into the
net. Chaos and pandemonium broke out. Fans rushed the floor. Squeaker
danced on top of the scorer's table.
After the players showered and as they headed out of the dressing
room, Rich asked Squeaker about a paper Squeaker was working on in
chemistry. Squeaker wanted to know how Rich knew and Rich gave only half
an answer. Squeaker said the paper was about how viruses are thought to
mutate when exposed to certain kinds of chemical compounds. Rich then
said to Squeaker, "Be a winner and get an A." Squeaker
replied, "You got it."
Rich was the last to leave the gym that night. The lights had all
been turned out except for the exit light signs that cast an eerie glow
over the floor and the stands. Rich's mind was filled with questions,
doubts, joy, and elation. Did it really happen? Was it just a dream? Was
it some kind of hallucination? Rich sat down on the front row of
bleachers to think. A voice Rich recognized as John's said, "It was
not a dream. And thank you. If Squeaker will apply himself, millions
will be spared. I know you have questions and I cannot answer them all.
I can tell you a few things. We discovered time wobbles. We then
discovered we can dodge and weave between the wobbles. We have been able
to go back in time by weaving our way between the wobble waves of time.
I am forbidden to tell you anything about the future other than what I
have already told you. What I can tell you is something about your
present state of mind. Like I said during the game, your losing became a
sort of madness. When you expect to lose, you guarantee yourself you
will lose. In every aspect of your life you must expect to win. Even
when the odds seem grossly in favor of your losing, you must expect to
win. It is your expectation of winning that can bias the odds in your
favor. It is the expectation of winning that generates a supernatural
energy to bias the outcome to be more in your favor. Always expect to
win. When you expect to win, even when you lose, you have tapped into a
supernatural power that stays with you for life. It was not revealed to
me whether you believe in God, but if you do not, I suggest you acquire
religious faith. Religious faith, like many other kinds of faith,
requires you to look forward in hope of winning. Victory comes only to
those who have faith and believe. I must leave you now. Please consider
all I have told you." John turned around and walked out the nearest
exit door.
Rich never saw John again. Squeaker got an "A" on his
paper. Rich got serious about God and trying to live as God wants all of
us to live…with an expectation to win in every circumstance.
1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his
commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is
the Son of God. (NIV)
This story is fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is
purely coincidental.
The following is not fiction. I grew up in a small town nestled in
the corn and soy bean fields of Indiana. I grew up on Indiana high
school basketball fever with March Madness (called Hoosier Hysteria in
Indiana) running through my veins. This is the first article I've ever
written about basketball, which in my utmost humility, shows I have a
supernatural amount of self-discipline :). As of this writing, (February
28, 2004) my high school team, the Waldron Mohawks of Waldron, IN
finished their regular season play undefeated at a record 20 - 0, and
are poised to win the Indiana High School state basketball championship
in their division. Go Mohawks!
Update, March 27, 2004: Today, the Waldron Mohawks finished the
season undefeated. The Mohawks rolled through the state sectional,
regional, and semi-state basketball tournament with with big wins.
Today, on Saturday, March 27, 2004 at Conseco Fieldhouse in
Indianapolis, the Waldron team handily won the Class 1A state
championship under first-year head coach Jason Delaney. Waldron High
School made history today by being the smallest school, enrollment 252
students, to ever finish the Indiana basketball season undefeated.
Waldron was also only the ninth team in history to ever finish a high school
basketball season in Indiana undefeated. The class 1A championship is
the first state championship for the school in any sport.
Congratulations to the players, coaches, administrators, and fans. What
a ride!
The play of my college alma mater, the Purdue Boilermakers men's
team, this year is a matter to be discussed at another time. However,
the play of Purdue women's team, under head coach Christy Curry, has
been outstanding. And no…I do not aspire to write sports.
This story without updates appeared as the March, 2004, Virtual Church message in
Shepherd's Care Ministries virtual church site at http://www.findthepower.com |
