"I don't fear the waves because I trust and know who made the Ocean". This was the opening statement that Bill Stewart, head football coach at West Virginia, made when he spoke at the final Touchdown Club Luncheon of the year today. I was reassured of the power to do good in the Sports Industry during the Touchdown lunch today. In the opening prayer, the Father that typically does the invocation prayed that Football programs would bring joy to those who watched, and I thought, yeah! If it's that easy to bring a smile to someone's face, why not work in sports? And then I heard Bill Stewart talk about his football team. If I'm a new fan of any football program it's going to be West Virginia after the speech he gave today. He said he trains his team members to be *good husbands* *good dads (not father's but dads...he made the distinction)* *strong men of society* and *men of faith*. As Coach Stewart was speaking I found myself thinking, I want my son to play football at West Virginia. I don't have a son, and have also never given much thought to the West Virginia athletic program in general, but it didn't register with me how weird and out of left field it was that I was wishing my unborn, nonexistent child could some day play for a team I do not cheer for (and would certainly cheer against, should they play Clemson), until after the speech was over. It sounds like they do it right in West Virginia. They dot their I's, cross their T's, and tell their players to be good boys, according to Coach Stewart. They train their players to be men of character, AND get them to buy into the program. The boys are committed to playing the best football, and that COMBINED with the top priority being good men of character makes the football program great. I mean, despite the loss this past weekend, I don't think many would argue that WVU has a strong football program. But they do it the right way. In the past several years they have had a very impressive graduation rate. In 2008, Coach Stewart graduated all but 2 of his players (the 2 who did not graduate went on to play in the NFL). In 2009, his graduation rate was %100. Bravo. Yes sports are fun. Yes the industry is part of the entertainment industry, and can seem frivolous and silly in the realm of the world. But I was reminded today that not only can this industry bring joy to those who participate in it or consume it, but it can also cultivate good leaders in our society. Bill Stewart: you are alright in my book!
We spent a total of MAYBE 2 hours in the office today which was a much needed change of pace for me. Instead of counting tickets for hours on end, we ended up having meetings at Charlotte Convention Center to tighten up several aspects of the ACC Night of Legends event, at the Epicentre to talk about Fan Central and other events leading into the ACC Championship weekend, and Fuel Pizza to talk about media day. Today was good. Much better than yesterday. Today I felt energized at the end of the work day.
As I'm writing, I'm watching the election results roll in, which has turned out to be a pretty incredible and historical political event. I am so embarrassed to say that I was unable to vote today, as I was not punctual enough about looking into ordering an absentee ballot, and couldn't make it to Greensboro. But I did get to have dinner with a few of Ann and Bobby's friends. They literally ordered dinner specifically to watch mid-term election results roll in. A glimpse into the future...but I did enjoy the company of the Blanchfields and Mr. Murphy. By the way, it blows my mind that these news stations can make their projections based on 2 PERCENT of the vote. It baffles me! I'm still trying to figure out how these numbers add up...On a side note, the Blanchfields have an unbelievable home on more than several acres in Charlotte, and a backyard with not one but two ponds that run down the hills. You can hear running water no matter where you are in the house. My mother would die. They also had the sweetest boxer named Maddie that was the closest in age to me, so naturally I hung with her for the majority of the night.
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