Occasionally I do.
By doing it, I mean looking at things through a different lens, like through sports.
This time I couldn’t resist watching a sports arena to demonstrate a religious belief, as an Ohio State football fan.
His run to the title this year was so unexpected, so incredible, so unique and so fulfilling that it deserves a blog post. It seems like an appropriate and close way to prove a point.
the underdogs
For starters, this was the first year of the new college football playoff system, and Ohio State snuck into the fourth and final playoff position in a way that was debated. Some say it was based on his past or earning potential, rather than his talent.
As the 1 team of the 4 that seemed not to be there, Ohio State played with desire and goal and, in the end, wore the jerseys saying:
“Undisputed National Champions”
Undisputed because there was a playoff.
They didn’t seem to be the most talented team out of the 4, but they seemed to be the team with the most drive in.
The definitive losers of the 4 teams entered the playoffs.
This post discusses a quote from Ohio State coach Urban Meyer regarding his team’s performance. He said,
“Strong belief can change your level of play.”
Meyer, his players and his staff played with a purpose and a desire that he said changed their level of play. It was his motivational technique, full of spiritual wisdom, that helped drive his team forward.
When put in the context of when he said it, the quote seems to refer primarily to Auburn’s loss of Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
This was significant because the Big Ten were considered weak throughout the year, at least compared to the Southeastern Conference.
People said Ohio State didn’t belong as a top 4 team because they played weaker opponents. The strength of the schedule, they said, should influence who the best teams are.
Meyer stated that the Big Ten’s victory over Auburn helped motivate his players and showed them that SEC teams were not invincible. He reiterated this to his players when the playoff began, that’s how they remembered him.
(The Big Ten Michigan State team also won its Bowl game over No. 6 Baylor.)
In fact, the quote was referring to the Auburn game, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of Meyer and Ohio State.
Yes, the desire helped Ohio State believe deep down that they could beat the once invincible Alabama Crimson Tide, winner of 3 national titles between 2010 and 2014.
But the quote referred to more than that.
The goal
Urban Meyer first started putting the idea of Ohio State winning a national title in a simple text message into people’s heads. It was after beating Alabama’s Notre Dame in a title game in January 2013 that Meyer soaked up the sense of accomplishment at a high level.
After the victory, Meyer’s text message was sent to the entire team and each member of the support staff which partially read: “The persecution has begun.”
In this case, “the chase” meant the goal of putting Ohio State back in the national title game and winning it. He knew the chase would be challenging and require a lot of concentration, but he was willing to do it.
After witnessing Alabama’s dominance and as he himself graduated from Ohio State, he decided it was time to try to “turn the tide,” away from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that Alabama was in.
Meyer stated that it was time for a team from another conference to experience the level of glory they had. The SEC had won 7 of the last 8 national titles.
Meyer knows how difficult it was to achieve this goal, based on his game wins with Florida in 2007 and 2009. He went the extra mile to reach his destination.
“Everything has to line up perfectly for this to happen,” he said.
Although it seemed like a long shot for Ohio State, Meyer believed it could be done with the right planning, tools, and motivation—”the chase.”
This phrase, “the manhunt is on,” seemed to resonate both in the state of Ohio and in the media. maybe a catchphrase was part of the extra mile he was talking about.
It was defining.
From his text he uses this phrase when he first signs a player at Ohio State to clearly define what he is trying to do. Running back Ezekiel Elliott even said that the word championships is plural, meaning Meyer talked about winning national championships, more than one.
He gets the idea into their heads from the start.
How many times have you heard that having a goal is important?
Meyer was truly ready to end the SEC’s dominance of the world of college football, and he believed that he, his team and his staff could do it together.
In addition to Alabama’s dominance, Meyer was also motivated to win a title by a now-famous story in his personal life.
When he was young, Meyer’s father, after seeing the young Meyer strike out in a baseball game, told him that he was walking home instead of being given a ride. It was a surprise to young Meyer and he never forgot it.
Apparently, it was a message to young Meyer about seizing opportunities when they come and realizing they don’t come around often.
As an adult Meyer says: “You have a swing. Great champions don’t miss.”
Well, Meyer got that swing.
Talk about “aligning perfectly.” Meyer had the opportunity to face rival Alabama in the playoffs (of all teams), which was almost like a fairy tale. Watching Alabama win was a catalyst for his idea of ”the chase.”
His team not only beat Alabama, but then beat the best team left after that: Oregon.
A title in your spiritual life
This motivation from Meyer is important because it relates to spirituality and it can also relate to your life.
As Meyer put it, “Strong belief can change your level of play.”
In other words, However things look on the outside, the strong belief can change the inside.
Just like Ohio State was the underdog in their last 3 title games, you may feel like an underdog in your life. Things can seem “stacked against you” and other people seem domineering.
Heck, Meyer even had to use his third-in-line quarterback for the chase, since the other two were injured.
You can’t change or control everything, but you can change your level of play.
Urban Meyer might even have thought things were looking up against his young team after an early-season home loss to unranked Virginia Tech. The media declared after the loss that his aspirations for the national title were over.
But neither he nor his team gave up. If God wants something to happen, it will happen. In other words, a strong belief.
In an interview after winning the title, Meyer said, “The chase is over. They accepted their final assignment and their final directive. We are very grateful.”
Sometimes it may seem like God is not working in your life, but a strong belief deep down can work wonders. In fact, Christians believe that God works through those who believe in him: even as an underdog.
With a strong belief and a grateful attitude, your national title could be on the horizon.
Believing in God can change your level of play and help things line up perfectly.
A strong faith can move mountains.