The amazing African American athletes that we see today have worked hard to carve out a niche in their respective sports. While it takes hard work, perseverance, and often times a healthy dose of good luck, for many of these successful athletes it also took the courage of others to knock down the barriers of segregation and ignorance that burdened this country for so long.

Jackie Robinson 1/31/1919 – 10/24/1072 – Robinson hammered hard at the walls of professional baseball. He first made a name for himself in the Negro League and finally broke through in 1947 to become a dominant force in Major League Baseball when he was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Among his many accomplishments is the 1947 MLB Rookie of the Year and the 1949 National League Most Valuable Player. Robinson’s career came to a close in 1956. He finished with a batting average of .311 and 1518 hits. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 and is the only player in MLB history to have his famous #42 retired not just from the team, but across the sport.

Joe Louis 5/13/1914 – 4/12/1981 – Perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, Joe Louis- the Brown Bomber, held the heavyweight championship with class and style. Louis defended his title 25 times from 1937- 1949 earning his opponents membership into what became known as the “Bum of the Month Club”. Boxing was not the only venue in which Joe Louis displayed his class and style. Louis was a diehard supporter of his country and served in the military, working his way up to the rank of Sergeant. He also spent time motivating and improving the morale of troops and civilians throughout WWII. His efforts were posthumously recognized in 1982 when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. As with many athletes, Louis loved another sport: Golf. As well as being a boxing champion he is also credited with shattering the walls of segregation in the Professional Golf Association, by participating in a PGA tournament in 1952 as well as assisting the early careers of other African American golfers in the 1950’s.

Jesse Owens 9/12/1913 – 3/31/1980 – There may be no other athlete of any origin who stared harder into the eyes of adversity than Jesse Owens. Owens competed in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. Not only did Owens earn four Gold Medals, an achievement that stood unequaled for almost 50 years, but his achievement during Hitler’s rise to power was a direct assault on the Nazi assumption of Aryan superiority. During these games Owens also became the first black athlete to ever receive a personal sponsorship when he was approached by the founder of Adidas and asked to wear the famous brand in Olympic competition. Owens name now graces the Track and Field top athlete of the year award known as the Jesse Owens Award. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990.

Althea Gibson 8/25/1927 – 9/28/2003 - Althea Gibson took a page out the books of both Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis. Excelling early on in tennis, Gibson broke through the color barrier to become the first African American woman to play on the World Tennis Tour. In 1956 Gibson won the Grand Slam title. She was the Wimbledon champion as well as the US Open champion in 1957 and 1958. Along with success in tennis, Althea Gibson also was the first African American woman to break into the LPGA in 1964. Although her golf game was not on the same level as her tennis game, Gibson was able to notch a second place finish in the 1970 Buick Open.

Alice Coachmen 11/9/1923- Present - Battling through adversity in the 1930’s and 1940’s, Alice Coachmen dominated the high Jump in Track and Field competition. The cancellation of two consecutive Olympic Games in 1940 and 1944 may have cost her the chance to showcase her abilities in her prime years, but Coachmen showed up in the 1948 Olympic Summer Games to become the first African American woman to earn a Gold Medal.

Wendell Scott 8/29/1921 – 12/23/1990 – Perhaps no sport has been tougher to break into than auto racing. NASCAR, often dubbed as a redneck sport may have roots in the south, but has always attracted competitors of every race and nationality. Wendell Scott made a name for himself as an African American and a hard charging racer throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s on the NASCAR circuit. Often going bumper to bumper with the best drivers and competition NASCAR had to offer, Scott did it on a shoestring budget and made every lap count. He finished several seasons in the top ten in points. The first black racer to hold a NASCAR license was also the first African American to win a NASCAR event in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series. Wendell Scott’s only win came in 1963, winning by two laps over Buck Baker. At the end of the race, Baker was awarded the win. It was a full two years before Scott was recognized as the winner of the race. In further controversy it was not until 2010 that Scott’s family was actually awarded the trophy for winning the race.

Wilma Rudolph 6/23/1940 – 11/12/1994 – It was not just a color barrier that Wilma Rudolf overcame on the way to being recognized as the fastest woman on earth, but overwhelming physical ailments as well. Rudolf was born prematurely and was a victim of polio as a child. This disease resulted in a twisted left leg that took years to straighten during her childhood. She overcame the handicap on the way to becoming a star athlete and by the time she was 16 she had earned a spot on the 1956 Olympics team, earning a Bronze Medal in the 4 x 100m relay. It was not until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome that Rudolf set the world on fire. In the 1960 games Rudolf became the first American woman of any color to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. She set records in all three events, but her record in the 200m granted her the title of the fastest woman on earth.

Bill Russell 2/12/1934- Present - Russell may not have been the first African American to play in the NBA, but Russell took the game to a new level. He was barely recruited out of high school to play college ball, but while in college he caught the eye of legendary coach Red Auerbach. Auerbach signed Russell to play for the Celtics in 1956. That year was a big year for Russell as he garnered his second NCAA championship at the University of San Francisco, and became the captain of the 1956 American Olympics Basketball team. Because of his Olympic commitment Russell could not start his professional basketball career until after the Olympic Games. He led the Olympic team to a Gold Medal victory over the Soviet Union and then took his spot on the Boston Celtics midway through the 1956-1957 season. The Celtics went on to play and win the NBA championship that year earning Russell the honor of being the first man to earn back to back NCAA and NBA championships. He went on to become the first African American coach in the NBA and was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.

Marion Motley 6/5/1920 – 7/27/1999 – Marion Motley was one of the first three players to break through professional football’s color barrier in 1946. After successful seasons of college ball Motley forwent a degree instead choosing to play for the newly formed Cleveland Browns in the All America Football Conference. The Browns went on to win championships all four years of the AAFC existence until the league shut down in 1949. When the Browns joined the NFL in 1950, Motley and his team also won the NFL championship that year. Marion Motley went on to be honored with membership to the 1940’s All Decade Team, the 75th Anniversary All Time Team and was inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame in 1968.

Charlie Wiggins 1897-1979 - Wiggins was a die hard racer in the early part of the twentieth century who became known as the Negro Speed King. A desire to compete at the highest level of auto racing brought him to Indianapolis in the early 1920’s. Despite his ability as a racecar driver Wiggins was denied entry into the Indianapolis 500 due to segregation rules set up by the American Automobile Association. Wiggins’ answer to the slight was to form his own racing league that raced across the Midwest. He drew the attention of William Rucker, who formed the Gold and The Glory Sweepstakes, a 100 mile race that competed annually at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Wiggins went on to win the race three times. Although blocked from Indianapolis 500 competition, Wiggins befriended several prominent Indianapolis 500 drivers, one of which asked to drive a car designed and built by Wiggins known as the Wiggins Special. Although Wiggins allowed drivers such as Harry McQuinn to race his car, but Wiggins did the testing. Wiggins lost his leg in a wreck at the 1936 Gold and Glory Sweepstakes, and although he never got to race in the Indianapolis 500 he spent the rest of his life fighting segregation in auto racing and encouraging the participation of African Americans in the sport.

In Coach Gibbs’ book, Game Plan for Life, there are many chapters that can help us in our everyday life, but Chapter 9 on Finances is an area that seems to be the number one area where we all need help. At the beginning of the chapter Coach talks about his struggles and mistakes that he made with money. The biggest of them all being the real estate mess he got into in Oklahoma. During this financial crisis Coach wrote down at least 15 things he learned that has helped him to make financial decisions for the rest of his life. In the Bible finances is talked about over 2,000 times and the main thing Coach will tell you he learned was to follow God’s word and trust in Him. Don’t try to do it yourself and outside of the guidelines that are laid out for us in his Word. The second most important thing he learned? Listen to your wife!

The rest of the chapter is written by financial expert Ron Blue. Ron lays out some key principals we should use to make short term and long term financial decisions.

1. Live within your income. This means we need to spend less than we make each month. To help in this area you need to create a budget for all the areas you spend money. My categories are church, mortgage, cell phone, gas/electric, car insurance, home phone/internet, direcTV, water/sewer, home security, HOA, garbage, health (gym, prescriptions, etc.), car gas, food/household items, misc./other. Other categories you may need are car payment, credit card, vacation, clothes, Christmas, savings, etc.
Once you have the budget set, you need to track your expenses and make adjustments as needed. You will notice that all your money goes to Wal-Mart and the gas station. Kind of depressing isn’t it.

2. Avoid debt, or use it wisely. If you have a credit card balance, then you are probably paying 10 – 18% in interest each month. Paying that balance off as quickly as possible should be a priority. One idea is to move that balance to another credit card that will give you 0% interest on balance transfers. That way your payment is going towards the principal and not the interest. Only use your card for emergencies.

3. Save. If your company has a 401k plan, make sure you are participating in it. First, the money you are contributing is not taxed (that saves you almost 30% right there). Second, your employer may match anywhere from 3-6% for every $1.00 you put in your 401k. That is free money that you could be missing out on.

You also need to build up your savings account for rainy days. Take a look at your expenses and see what you can do without. Some ideas are – down grade your TV package, have only a cell phone and do away with a home phone, clip coupons, bundle some bills. This will help you save some money each month that you may need in the future for something that you were not expecting to get hit with. Just in the last two months I have been hit with a $1,200 bill to replace our propane tank and then another $900 for missing something on our taxes.

4. Set Long Term Goals. Pay off your house, pay off debt, plan for college tuition, retirement, save for a new home, etc. Make sure you and your spouse are in agreement with the goals you have set. Two working as one will beat two working alone any day.

5. Understand that God owns it all. This is the most important. We are to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. If we can’t manage what he has already blessed us with, how can we expect to be entrusted with more? I think this has been my struggle. I need to be a better steward of what I have been blessed with and trust God will take care of the rest. He promised that he will provide our every need.

Ron also lays out some key questions to ask when making a financial decision:

• What is the best use of this money?
• How does this decision align with your priorities?
• Are you and your spouse unified about this?
• Will you regret this decision years from now?
• What’s the best outcome from this decision? What’s the worst? How likely are these outcomes?

In closing, I would like you to remember that we all make financial decisions every day. It can be as simple as packing your lunch vs. eating out or as complex as deciding how much to contribute to your 401k. One thing Ron Blue points out is once you spend that money, it is gone forever. Take your time when making major financial decisions. Money does not define who we are. Have a Game Plan that is following God’s Game Plan (the Bible) – It’s all His anyway.

A useful website to help you with your finances is Crown Ministries www.crown.org. If you want to read more on Game Plan for Life, visit our resources page. Click Here We have a lot of useful material to help you in the Game of Life.

Simulcast Event To Be Held At Joe Gibbs Racing Headquarters on May 26, 2012

Attend Live In Person With Special Race Experience Packages

Huntersville, N.C. (February 7, 2012). -  LifeWay Men, a team at LifeWay Christian Resources, recently signed an agreement to broadcast Game Plan for Life, a live simulcast event on Saturday, May 26, 2012, featuring Joe Gibbs and Tony Evans.

“I am excited about the impact this is going to have on men around the world,” said Jason Ellerbrook, director of training and event productions at LifeWay. “More than 160,000 people attend a race at Bristol. The potential size of the audience and the influence of Joe Gibbs is a recipe for success.”

The event will be simulcast live online and available to individuals as well as churches across the country. In addition, through a partnership with Prison Fellowship Ministries the simulcast will be made available to prison facilities across the U.S.

Joe Gibbs, who coached the NFL’s Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl Championships and has won three NASCAR Cup Championships as owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, will speak about the impact Jesus Christ has had on his life as a man, husband, father, coach and NASCAR team owner.

In addition, Tony Evans, notable speaker and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, will explain how men can go deeper in their walks with Jesus Christ.

In addition to viewing the event online, attendees can participate in the event in a number of different ways, including an exclusive and limited opportunity to join Gibbs and Evans live at the simulcast at JGR’s headquarters in Huntersville, N.C. Those attending in person will have the opportunity to choose from two special weekend packages to include:

– Meals Saturday and Sunday

– A tour of the JGR race shop

– Tickets to the Nationwide Race in Charlotte, N.C.

– Tickets to the Sprint Cup Race in Charlotte, N.C.

The Game Plan for Life simulcast follows Gibbs’ New York Times bestselling book “Game Plan for Life.”

“Joe Gibbs’ focus is to lead men to Christ,” Ellerbrook said. “‘Game Plan for Life’ is a playbook written by assembled experts in areas of life men can relate to.”

”I’m excited about this opportunity to work with Lifeway in an effort to share the Game Plan for Life message with a broad audience,” said Gibbs. “Since we released the book we have been conducting breakfast events around the country to share that God has left us the ultimate game plan in the Bible. Our hope is that this simulcast with Lifeway will provide an easy invitation for people to bring their family and friends to hear that message and an opportunity to follow up with them afterward.

*Registration to join the event live at JGR’s headquarters in the Charlotte, N.C. area are now available. Visitwww.lifeway.com/gameplan for tickets and information on the event and visit www.gameplanforlife.com for more information about Game Plan For Life.  

I am someone who actually enjoys Valentine’s Day.   I have friends who feel differently and commonly refer to it as “Single’s Awareness Day”- who complain that it’s a completely over-hyped, over-commercialized “holiday” that was completely made up by Hallmark.  If that is your view then you’ve missed the point. Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, and we all have people in our life that we love.

The number one thing I would tell guys who are contemplating what to do or get for their spouse or girlfriend for Valentine’s Day is not to feel pressure to have to do something extravagant or expensive.  Being a girl myself, I understand a woman’s expectations on Valentine’s Day: they are not that high.  What a woman really wants is to be thought of, to be cared for and for the man in their life to appreciate them for who they are.

Ultimately, Valentine’s Day is about setting aside the time to celebrate the important people in your life.   In honor of Valentine’s Day, here is a list (or strong suggestion) of what not to get a woman for Valentine’s Day:

10. Cook book- Avoid gifts that might send a mixed message.

9. Rogaine- No explanation necessary.

8. Life insurance policy with you as the beneficiary.

7. A tattoo of her name on your chest.

6. Sweetheart themed toilet paper.

5. New tires- Nothing screams “I care about you” more than a set of new wheels.

4. Sketcher Shape Ups- Again, no explanation necessary.

3. Cleaning product- This is not a gift…I repeat, this is not a gift. There is nothing thoughtful or special about it.2. Video games- I am sure some women enjoy video games but let’s be honest…it’s really a gift for “yourself” that you hope she might enjoy.

2. Video games- I am sure some women enjoy video games but let’s be honest…it’s really a gift for “yourself” that you hope she might enjoy.

1. Facebook gift- This might be seen as cute on some random day during the year, but a little picture of a lava lamp or a bar of soap is not the way to a woman’s heart.

To me, Valentine’s Day is synonymous with love and care, and with hearts, candies and hugs.  We can chose to be cynical and associate the day with what it is missing, or we can look at it as a reason to celebrate loved ones, and more importantly another reason to celebrate another day of life.

Joe Gibbs offers several different resources to help you develop a Game Plan For Life!

• Game Plan For Life; New York Times Best-Seller: Click Here
• Group Study Guides: Click Here
• Joe’s Chalk Talks, Devotional: Click Here
• Game Plan For Life Bible: Click Here
• Get a FREE New Testament Bible: Click Here

Click here to view these photos in high resolution

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From Joe Gibbs: We’re all excited about the Super Bowl! What the coaches are doing right now is crafting game plans. I thought I would cover what I think is one of the keys to the upcoming Super Bowl in this Chalk Talk.

We are all excited about the Super Bowl and I got to thinking about what an exciting time for those coaches.  What those coaches are doing right now is crafting game plans.  I thought I would cover with you what I think is one of the keys to the upcoming Super Bowl and that is going to be pass protection.  In discussing that, I would like to go back and discuss the Championship games.  We know that New England was playing the Baltimore Ravens and in that game I felt like the pass protection plan by New England was a good one.  Brady got hit one time.  He actually got hit 3 times but sacked only once so that is a pretty good day for the quarterback. On the other hand, Joe Flacco of the Ravens got sacked 3 times and he was hit another 7 times.  As a consequence, when you get a quarterback hit that many times it is definitely going to affect their play.

For me, when I was out scouting for quarterbacks (and I coached some of the best out there – Dan Fouts, Doug Williams, Rypian, Theismann – those guys were real smart), the key thing we looked for was toughness.  I’m saying quarterbacks have to be extremely tough for this reason – physically and mentally.  They are going to drop back and many times they are in a position where they are going to throw a football, not defending themselves and they are going to get hit.  I have stood on those sidelines enough to know that any quarterback (I don’t care how tough they are) when he comes to the sidelines, you are going to see in his eyes that it is tough for them and that it is a physical thing.  Then, as a consequence late in the game, they start throwing off their back foot or start making bad decisions because they are trying to get the ball out of there to protect themselves and keep from getting hit.  In the Pats-Ravens game, we saw that New England definitely kept their quarterback, Brady, from being hit a lot and as a consequence they wound up winning the ballgame although he was off on a few throws.  I don’t think it was because he was getting hit.

Now let’s take the Giants and 49ers in the Championship game.  There’s a little different story there.  Eli of the Giants was sacked 6 times and he was hit 12.  Now you are talking about a quarterback getting knocked around quite a bit.  The 49ers did a good job on the pass rush.  As a consequence, we saw in the fourth quarter that Eli was throwing off his back foot sometimes and probably threw 3 balls in there that could have been picked off.

Now we have the matchup in the Super Bowl of the Pats and the Giants.  I think the key to this game is who has the best game plan for pass protection.

What happens in the NFL if they are keeping their backs and tight ends in, this is a typical offensive formation.  What you are going to see is that it is much easier to pass protect.  Say this is play action on first or second down and you’ve got that quarterback making a play action and you’ve got extra tight ends in the ball game.  Now you can do what?  Run your deep receiving routes but odds are you are going to get pretty good pass protection because you have tight ends in and you’ve got backs.  That’s pretty good pass protection.  That’s a great scheme.  Now what has become the rage in the NFL even on the first down they are putting the quarterback in the shotgun formation and lots of time with only one remaining back.  They will put 4 receivers out wide.  This is what is taking place in the league now.  Now you put 4 receivers in there and you split everybody out.  Now what are you going to do with those pass rushing experts out here who have been drafted and are some of the best athletes in the league?  Take New England – sometimes they are in a 4-3 and sometimes they are in a 34.  Mark Anderson – 10 sacks.  Andre Carter got hurt and he will be out of the game.  Rob Ninkovich – linebacker and outside pass rusher.  Brandon Deaderick and Shaun Ellis.  All of these guys are excellent pass rushers.  They are going to be looking to put pressure on Eli.  How about the Giants’ pass rushers?  Jason Pierre-Paul.  Osi Umenyiora.  Justin Tuck.  These are all great athletes on the outside that have been drafted.  What’s the problem when you split everybody out?  There is no presence of tight ends here plus the offensive tackles are put in a bad position because of the crowd noise.  I have been in four Super Bowls and believe me there is a lot of crowd noise.  It’s tough for these guys to hear the snap count and many times they get off late plus there is nothing to keep these great pass rushers from going outside and coming inside.  There is no presence of a tight end here.  So you give them what?  A lot of space and that becomes a problem on pass protection. Sometimes the offenses are even taking the back out and putting him on the outside and then they actually have no one left in the backfield.  Again, this is putting a high priority on the two tackles when they cannot hear and get off on a bad set giving these great athletes a lot of room to rush the passer.  You have got to have a great game plan.  Most of the time with 4 wide receivers or even 5 wide receivers, this quarterback has to throw quick routes – 6 yard breaking routes.  Now you start trying to get this ball downfield with these sets – no tight ends in there – and when you throw the ball deep you put the quarterback at risk.  So I think a great game plan is having good pass protection.  What are some of the things you can do when you find out you are having problems with pass protection?  What you can do is actually keep a tight end in the ball game, keep a running back in the ball game and now you have 3 wide receivers to run your routes.  Here’s what you pick up now.  That tight end by having body presence here, it makes it a lot easier on that end for pass rush.  The tight end can actually chip before he runs his inside or outside routes.  He can be chipping.   This is what I noticed the Giants did late in their game – they kept a tight end in, kept a back in from the standpoint he would get a shot on that end before he would release on his pass route.  Now you’ve got a tight end on one side helping the offensive tackle or you got the running back on one side helping the offensive tackle and chipping.  Now that is the scheme they went to and it makes a lot more sense because you can throw your downfield routes and you are taking care of these pass rushers out here with this scheme.  Obviously another thing you could do is have 2 running backs in the backfield and let both of them chip before they go out on their pass routes.  So the schemes they have for the Super Bowl are for New England I think it is going to be real important that they have a great pass protection scheme and certainly for the Giants, I don’t think they want to repeat what the 49ers did to them.  You do not want Eli getting hit like that.  I would think in their game plan they are definitely going to have a situation where they can put two running backs in there or if they can keep a tight end in the game and wind up with a good pass protection scheme.  I think this will be one of the keys for the game plan in the Super Bowl.  We’ll see how many times those quarterbacks get hit because I know that is going to affect their play in the fourth quarter.

How about you and I in life?  We are playing a game.  Do we have a great game plan?  That’s the reason we wrote Game Plan for Life.  Just like in football, you’ve gotta have a great game plan and in life you have to have a great game plan.  We went out in America and we asked America what are the topics that you need to have success in to have a modern day successful life – to win the game.  It came back with 11 topics.  They were everything from health, relationships, creation (how we got here), salvation, heaven (where are we going).  You don’t want the football coach writing about those 11 topics for you.  What we did was go out and picked a scholar who has spent his life studying what God has to say in his Word about these different topics.  We asked those scholars to write for the average Joe.  That’s people like yourself and like me.  We asked them to write what is the game plan in those certain areas.  My story is kinda weaved through this book to show you what an average Joe (the guy who is the P.E. major) going through life.  When I followed God’s game plan, I had some measure of success whether it was in my coaching career, in my family or anywhere else.  When I veered away from it and it is in this book some of the disasters I have had – a financial disaster, an occupational struggle, a health disaster – because I veered away from God’s game plan.

We’d love for you to go to gameplanforlife.com.  You can see where you can get the book.  Also, on that website you can see where to get a small group study that LifeWay did should you want it.  The lead-ins in the small group study were filmed here at the race shop and a football complex.  We want to send you a free New Testament study Bible should you want one.  This is called The Essentials of the Christian Faith.  I used this with my two boys, JD and Coy, when they were growing up.  We would take one of the 15 topics in here which take about 15 minutes each and we would study every night before we went to bed.  I am now doing this with my grandsons and my granddaughter.  We would love for you to go to the website, gameplanforlife.com, and request it for free.

I am excited about the Super Bowl.  I am going to be looking for the game plans.  Hopefully you and I have a great game plan for life and I want to thank you for joining me.

Super Bowl XLV is here and barring another winter storm hitting the country, tens of thousands of fans will descend upon Cowboys Stadium in Texas to see the Green Bay Packers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The rest of us will see the game at home or at the thousands of Super Bowl parties throughout the country. It’s the biggest sporting event of the year and each year the gatherings become more and more impressive and unique. In fact, this year the Super Bowl is trying to set an attendance record by inviting guests to watch on a big screen television just outside the stadium. Although, these fans won’t actually get in to see the game live, they will be part of the attendance. Remember, the Super Bowl is a great opportunity to connect with friends and make new ones! Here are the top five tips for a record setting Super Bowl extravaganza.

See Joe Gibbs’ Super Bowl Pick

Best Dressed Fan Contest

Parties are always more fun when they have themes. You may not be a Green Bay or Pittsburgh fan, but everyone has a team they pull for at one time or another. Create color and rivalry at your next Super Bowl party by inviting your guests to go all out in support of their favorite team. Jerseys, colors, numbers, helmets, face paint, and extras like the Cheese Head Hats and Terrible Towels that will be in abundance at the game on Super Bowl Sunday. Whatever you might see at a tailgate is what your guests should have on when they attend your party. Everybody gets a vote, and a chosen few can get the awards. Reward your guests for most enthusiastic, best dressed, worst dressed. Inexpensive trophies, bobble heads and football themed items can be awarded. Pretty soon this becomes a regular event and your guests will try to out do each other year after year. Your Super Bowl party will go down in the record books.

Chili Or Wing Cook Off

Parties can be expensive, but there are ways around the expense that can make your party the one everyone talks about when the Monday morning quarterbacks come out of hiding and expel their knowledge of how the game should have gone. Take some of the food and catering expense out of your party by having a Chili Cook Off and a Chicken Wing Throwdown.

Have your guests prepare their special concoctions at home the night before the game. It’s all on them. They can cook their favorite type of Chili or wings and tell them to use their championship recipes. Spicy or not, beans or no beans, beef chicken or sausage, white or red, no Chili is off limits. Best of all have everybody including the Chili chefs vote on their favorite. The only catch: They can not vote for their own. Not only does this lower your expenses for the party, but it involves your guests and offers them the opportunity to make this Super Bowl gathering the best ever. Again, you can reward your guest with inexpensive trophies or even reward the top vote getter with a gift card to the NFL shop online, bobble heads, or other football inspired gift ideas you can think of. It’s all up to you.

If you want to make it a little more interesting, no Super Bowl party is complete without a tray of wings. Why have your wings prepared and supplied by the local market when your guests can dazzle each other with their award winning chicken wing recipes. Just like the Chili cook off, all the guests can vote and a winner can be rewarded. If there is a tie, never fear. There can only be one winner. The two top dishes get voted on again, and the winner of the tie breaker takes home the trophy. Don’t forget, this may be your party, but you may have a few spectacular recipes of your own. Get in on the action. Everybody votes so if you win, it won’t be rigged. Everybody’s a winner at this year’s Super Bowl party.

Rate The Commercial Contest

It may sound crazy, but not everyone is a football fan. Some of your guests may want to be part of the action, but may have no interest in the game itself. Some of the other stalwart fans may have lost all interest in the football season and the Super Bowl when their team went down to one of the two contenders. Have no fear; they can get into the action as well. There is no bigger time of year or bigger event of the year for celebrating commercials, than the Super Bowl. These expensive little 30 second to one minute clips can be more entertaining than some of the films nominated for an Oscar this year. All our favorite advertisers will go out of their way and spend a huge part of their yearly marketing budget just to have us remember their ground breaking Super Bowl XLV commercials. Who can forget Betty White being tackled last year just because she didn’t get her candy bar? That was until Abe Vigoda took a hit a few seconds later in the same commercial.

The commercials, of course, will air throughout the game, but the best ones will be during halftime, so whether your team is winning, falling behind or not even in the game, get ready to laugh and pick your winner for Super Bowl Commercial of the Year. Even the guests who don’t care about football will want to be part of this one.

Football Prizes & MVP Picks

This is a Super Bowl Party. Don’t forget that people are coming by to watch the game on that big screen monster you have sitting in your living room. Fans love to get in on the action and show their knowledge of the game. Set up a Football prize-pool for bragging rights or awards. This is a time honored tradition in football parties and it doesn’t have to get too involved. Just have each guest pick a winner for each quarter and the game winner. The person who picks the most winners gets the award. If there is a tie, just make sure you had your guests pick a score with each of their picks and the closest score wins. You can reward the winners each quarter, at halftime or just the end of the game. It’s all up to you.

Some other ideas would be to have them pick the game MVP as well. Or they can make a guess at the total passing yardage or running yardage for the winning team. If this sounds a little complicated you can down load a football pool grid already set up and ready to go. A quick search on the internet for “free football pool grid” will take care of all your worries and questions on how to set this up or you can go to the footabll pool link. This game is all about the fun, so some footballs knick-knacks like team towels, bobble head figures and inexpensive trophies can be the rewards. Have your guests pick their boxes in the order they arrive. If they arrive late, oh well, they may not get the best square, but it’s all about the fun and getting everybody involved.

Themed Decorations

You’ve probably heard this one before, but nothing gets a party going better than the right atmosphere. You have to get everybody in the mindset for the big game. We are not talking about the standard paper decorations you might find at the dollar party supply house. We are talking about your own Super Bowl Gala that will outshine the game itself. Start by setting up the entrance to your house. The teams run out of the tunnel as the announcer introduces them to the fans. You can set up your own team tunnel. It might take a little lung power, or you can even purchase an inexpensive helium balloon kit. Set the balloons up and create your own arch leading up to the entrance of your party. A few strips of green and white cloth set up along the ground can simulate a football field. It may seem extreme, but your guest will light up and get in the mood for your extravaganza before they even get to the front door.

Inside the house decorate with anything football. Banners, poster, streamers, balloons, can represent the teams competing, winners of past Super Bowls, YOUR favorite team and anything else you find that screams football. Get the whole family involved and set up a party atmosphere that everyone will enjoy.

“The only thing we leave here on Earth is the influence we have on others.” – Joe Gibbs

So, I know what you are thinking. Another article on Tebow? Really. No, thank you. He lost. The Broncos are out of the playoffs and this is Super Bowl week. The focus is on the Giants and the Patriots. I shouldn’t have to hear about Tebow until training camps open!

Well, in all honesty this article is not really about Tebow, but more about having him serve as an illustration to discuss using the platform the Lord has provided us in our lives.

Coach Gibbs has often been quoted as saying that it doesn’t matter how many football games or races he wins in his lifetime because the only thing that will truly survive our physical lives here on Earth, is the influence we have on others.

Now, many of us will never have the opportunity to influence hundreds, thousands, or even millions like many athletes or other public figures that have the platform to communicate to those kinds of numbers. However, we do have the daily opportunity to connect with those in our immediate sphere of influence.

For me, what is so impressive about Tebow has nothing to do with his technique as a quarterback, the strength of his throwing arm, or his accuracy, but rather the recognition of the opportunity he has been given and the consistency to which he honors that blessing.  He also recognizes that his current situation provides him the ability to communicate to many or just a few. Take for instance this story from Peter King of Sports Illustrated from earlier this season:

Before I let Tebow go, I asked him if anyone after the game — coaches, players, execs — had said anything memorable to him. “Everybody was happy,” he said, “but I’ll tell you one thing that happened during the week that I remember …

 Good, I thought. John Fox, maybe, sidling up to him and saying something sportingly profound like, “Son, we’re going to ride that left arm and those legs to the Super Bowl.”

 ” … I had an opportunity to talk with a kid named Blake Appleton, from Florida, on Thursday. He’s a leukemia patient who’s just been moved to hospice. And after the game, when I was being interviewed on TV, I got to say his name. That’s what I’m proud of today. I let him know people cared about him. I let him know God has a plan for him.”

 And that was the end of the Tebow interview. He had to rush to get on the bus to the airport. Except …

“Have a good day, Mr. King. And God bless you.”

 Tebow recognized the opportunity he has to influence Blake’s life in a positive manner. He embraced the opportunity instead of fighting it. Thanks to relaying the message on television and again in this story by Peter King, Tebow has potentially influenced millions about the need to care for others and communicate that God has a plan for each of us.

Can you imagine having the opportunity to impact so many people? Can you imagine having the opportunity to have such a huge impact on even one person just because you recognized them and show that you cared?

Many athletes have declared that they are not role models and have never asked to be viewed as such. What they fail to recognize is that while they never asked for this opportunity to influence others in a positive manner, God has blessed them with the platform to do so. What they choose to do with that blessing is up to them.

The question for us is what opportunities has God provided us to influence others? Who are those in our lives that we can impact? And more importantly, what are we going to choose to do with those opportunities?

Good, I thought. John Fox, maybe, sidling up to him and saying something sportingly profound like, “Son, we’re going to ride that left arm and those legs to the Super Bowl.”

” … I had an opportunity to talk with a kid named Blake Appleton, from Florida, on Thursday. He’s a leukemia patient who’s just been moved to hospice. And after the game, when I was being interviewed on TV, I got to say his name. That’s what I’m proud of today. I let him know people cared about him. I let him know God has a plan for him.”

And that was the end of the Tebow interview. He had to rush to get on the bus to the airport. Except …

“Have a good day, Mr. King. And God bless you.”

Joe Gibbs Racing currently employs 6 full-time pilots, 1 full-time flight attendant and 5 part-time flight attendants to operate two company planes and one company jet.  JGR Director of Aviation, Ivan Beach, is in charge of managing the entire aviation department- quite a feat for a man who was originally told he would never fly a plane.  Ivan shares with us his unique perspective into the mind of a pilot as well as things and lessons he has learned along the way.  

Tell us about your background and how you got into aviation?

I’ve always wanted to fly since I was really young.  When I went through college I went through ROTC and I wanted to fly helicopters.  I went to Fort Campbell and took the physical, which I promptly flunked because I had a deviated septum.  So I took my commission in armor and went to Germany as a tank officer.  While I was over there someone said they needed first lieutenants to go to flight school.  I took the physical again and the flight surgeon did not look up my nose at all and I’ve been flying ever since.  Moral of the story is the first time something doesn’t work out, don’t let it deter you from going after what you really want.  I will have you know that I did have my nose fixed before I left the army.

I went through a year of army flight training and got my wings and went to Fort Bragg in 1973.  I served 6 ½ years in the army and when I got out I moved to Charlotte.  After I moved to Charlotte, I tried to go into sales but missed flying so bad I couldn’t stand it, so I used my G.I. Bill benefits to go down to Rock Hill, SC to get all my airplane ratings.  I got my first job flying cargo in single-engine airplanes and was paid $600 a month.  I also applied to the North Carolina Guard to get in the National Guard Aviation Program and was on flight status with the Guard for 28 years.  I kept working on getting better jobs and in 1978 I was hired by Pinehurst Airlines to fly cargo in DC3s- a World War II vintage airplane.  That airline went bankrupt in 1982 and I got a job flying for Piedmont Airlines in 1985 and I flew for Piedmont and US Airways for 22 years.  Four years ago I retired and took this job.  So I started in the army flying military helicopters and kept my career in the Guard flying jets and helicopters while also flying commercial airlines.  That was a lot of fun because I was able to fly two completely different types of aircraft.

Can you describe what it is about flying that you love to this day?

 I love flying because of the challenges it poses- no two flights are exactly the same.  It is a lot of fun to learn to fly different aircraft and different types of aircraft. My office that I prefer is in the cockpit because you are up at 31,000 feet looking out the window, and you get to travel, you get to go to very interesting places.  I had a blast flying internationally for commercial airlines.  I flew transatlantic and went to Rome, Paris, Madrid, Gatwick, Manchester, etc. We would fly all night and when we finally landed I would go to sleep for a few hours then make myself get up and spend the rest of the day sightseeing.  Plus, the process of international flying was really interesting to me- all the flight planning, the fuel planning and the technical part to me was really fascinating.

Part of flying is the technical aspect because it is far more than just knowing the mechanical part of the airplane- you have to be able to manage the whole flight.  You’ve got to understand how the air traffic control system works, you have to really know a lot about weather and be able to look at the sky and the clouds and weather reports and know what it means and how it is going to affect the flight.

What qualities make a great pilot?

The most important quality for any employee is ethics- ethical behavior.  That comes first because if they don’t have basic, decent, good character, I don’t care about all the rest.   The flying and technical part you can teach someone if they have reasonable intelligence.  I tell everyone here in the department that I am proof that the most average human being can be taught to fly, but character is first because if they don’t have good character they are not going to make a good employee.

What is different about working for Joe Gibbs Racing compared to a commercial airline?

 It is a completely different type of operation.  For one thing it is a much smaller company, but I would say the biggest difference is flying airplanes is not the business for Joe Gibbs Racing.  The business here is racing cars and that is the number one focus.  The aviation department is in a support role to support the primary mission of the company.  We like to view it as the people who fly with us on our airplanes to the racetrack are our customers.  A commercial airline like US Airways is in the business of flying airplanes, but here our business is to racecars.

The reason JGR has a flight department is that we can do it more efficiently than the airlines can or a charter operator can because we leave on the schedule that management gives us.  It is a completely different kind of flying.

Do you go to all the races? 

No.  We don’t want to be at the race because our job is not at the racetrack and if the pilots and flight crew went to the race we would be tired.  For example, when we fly back from California we fly all night long so I want the flight crew at the hotel resting.

What do you think the average person doesn’t know a pilot?

 Most people don’t know that just about all pilots have type-A personalities and are perfectionists- they expect total perfection from themselves.   And if you are not always striving to make the flight go perfectly then it probably isn’t the right profession for you.  Everything can be routine for your whole career but in a nanosecond all that can change.