Yes, I am a Tar Heel fan. I actually grew up an N.C. State fan, and was an excited kid when they won the 1983 NCAA Championship in men’s basketball. However, my oldest sister went to Carolina for her undergraduate degree in the early ‘90s. She became great friends with the head basketball manager, and I got to meet the players. The rest is history. Not to mention that I married a UNC grad whose dad was also an alumnus who would get season football tickets.

JP 4-6-16 img1UNC lost a heartbreaker to Villanova in the championship game this past Monday night. It was a buzzer-beater that will no doubt live in infamy. Maybe I’m finally starting to grow up, but these kinds of defeats don’t bother me as much anymore, and I’m glad they don’t.

In recent years, I’ve been convicted as a Christian that I was getting more excited cheering on my favorite teams than I was with my praise and worship at church, in my car listening to music, or during my personal quiet time with the Lord. I realized that I was getting more disappointed at my team’s loss than I was after hearing that someone I know died without knowing Jesus. God should receive my highest praise and my most distraught prayers.

This past Sunday, my niece was baptized during the church service along with several others. The pastor said the very thing that had already convicted my heart: “We should be more excited about these baptisms than the big game tomorrow night”. He was absolutely right.

While I didn’t perfectly handle my emotions during the game, I think I took a step forward with the proper spiritual perspective. And I was able to use it as a teaching moment and pass along an important lesson to my children. Perhaps they won’t get more passionate about sports or sporting events than they do about their walk with Christ. That is certainly one of my goals as a parent.

The UNC loss still stings a little bit though 😉