After a couple months of practicing in the cold weather, sometimes freezing weather, Turkey bowl tournament has finally come to an end. First of all, I would like to thank every player who represented our church teams well. I also thank the parents and supporters for their encouragement and cheers throughout the tournaments and for serving delicious food and warm drinks. And last but not least, the coaches and other leaders for their hard work put into the tournament. It was certainly a great time of witnessing a genuine love and unity within the body of New Covenant Fellowship Church. Regardless of the result of how each team did at the tournament, we were all able to get to know each other better through football and spending our weekends together. That to me was the most important thing I gained from participating in this year’s tournament.
This year was the very first time I got an opportunity to play in the Turkeybowl. It was my first time playing football in an organized manner. You can imagine how tough it was for me to learn all the rules, positions and the whole dynamic of a football game. I definitely appreciate the game of football a lot more as a result of this tournament. There were many times when I had no idea what I was doing on the field and when people were calling out plays or shouting out things like “option”, “weak side blitz”, “Shadow Run(?)” I felt like I was learning English all over again. And I didn’t want to look like a fool by asking so many questions that everyone seemed to know. However, I got better through the practice sessions. Thank God for amazing teammates for taking time and kindly explaining everything for me. Now that I invested so much time in learning the game of football, I hope to get better and continue to play in the Turkey Bowl as long as my health permits me to play competitively. After all, I have to make a full use of all the football gear that I purchased for this tournament for at least a couple more years.
One thing I love about playing team sports is that each person’s character comes out in the game setting. I especially love seeing the fine balance of people’s competitive spirit and the love of Christ being displayed in the game. It was very encouraging to see everyone trying to keep their mouth shut from complaining and uttering bad words. I know it was a bit of a struggle for many of us to keep our “cool” in certain instances but I am very proud of all of you for displaying such control and poise throughout the tournament. I am already looking forward to next year’s tournament!
From Pastor Brian’s Heart
December 1, 2013