Faith's Edge

You know, before I came to SFTS, I didn't know people who were fans of teams other than the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins (and Panthers in NCAA stuff). Pittsburgh doesn't have an NBA team (which is a travesty!) so folks are all over the place in terms of basketball. It is good to know fans of other teams. It keeps me humble. I have also been incredibly spoiled by the Steelers since I got out here. My first year of seminary they were 15-1. Last year, well, you know. The whole Super Bowl thing. It is taking some time to getting reaccustomed to watching the black and gold lose. That being said, I still have every confidence that the Steelers will turn this season around. Why? Here's why: 1) their passing game. The Steelers have discovered over the past two weeks that they can throw the ball. Hines Ward (pictured left) had an amazing game on Sunday! They have probably the best receiver core that I can remember the team having (although Ward, Randle El, Burress was pretty good). If they can start using the pass to set up the run instead of the other way around, they have we an offensive juggernaut on our hands. The last two games Ben has thrown for 5 td's and no interceptions. Batch added two at the end of Sunday's game (more on the qb situation later). 2) the tough schedule. Now you may be thinking, isn't the tough schedule a bad thing? Well, kinda. Here's the thing, in my opinion the two toughest divisions have to play each other this year, those being the NFC South(CAR, ATL, NO, TB) and the AFC North (PIT, CIN, CLE, BAL). The toughness of schedule for the rest of our division is going to allow smoe good teams to cancel each other out. 10-6 or even 9-7 might win our division this year. That might seem optimistic, and this week with CIN beating CAR that didn't shake out as I had hoped, but I think towards the end of the season we're going to see some leveling off and the Steelers are money in November and December. Just you wait.

Two things are killing the Steelers right now: turnovers and the QB situation. At the beginning of the season, the problem was Ben throwing interceptions. He seems to have fixed that. But we've now fumbled two punts this season. That is unacceptable. We've had a couple of monster fumbles. Fumbles suck. Even the word makes you feel like an idiot if it is attached to your name. The Steelers surprisingly are tied for first place in interceptions. If they can keep creating turnovers without turning the ball over they will be fine.

Okay, now onto the QB thing. I'm worried about Ben. I hate to say this, but I hope someone is talking to him about retiring as an option. I don't want that, but it has to be a serious consideration with two concussions in a short span of time. Football is a game. Granted it is his job, but no job is worth scrambling your brain for the remainder of your life. I just think it should be on the table. For now, no matter how Ben is, Charlie Batch should probably start Sunday. It is a very winnable game against the Raiders (anyone got tickets?) and Batch can handle it while Ben gets ready for Denver, which will be tough the way their D is playing. (Tenacious D, some might call it).

I could just blog about football for the rest of the morning, but maybe I should talk about real life too. Right now, I am getting sick. I've been fighting it for a couple of weeks, but as soon as I get a chance to stop, the sickness catches up with me. That is what is happening now. Which sucks because it means being sick during my break. Right now it isn't too bad. My head is kind of fuzzy (on the inside) and I'm really drained. Other than that...ah, I'll stop my whining and suck it up.

God is good! I've been thinking about that alot lately. It is impossible to rationalize feelings of peace when life is turbulent. I am in a reflective mode alot these days and as I look back I really see that God has been doing some work on me here at good ol' SFT to the S. (sorry!). I don't get God. I thought seminary would help me 'get' God. It hasn't. God has become bigger and more mysterious. God is unpredictable, but faithful. A weird combination indeed. Anyway, I won't gush, but I am very aware of the fact that God has carried Marnie and I through alot in these past couple years and I am grateful. I am particularly grateful that Marnie is a two and focuses alot of her twoness in my direction! (enneagrams are fun!)

Speaking of my lovely life partner, she gets to have lunch with Barack Obama tomorrow. Okay, not exactly, she's going to hear him at a luncheon tomorrow, but she'll be at a close table. She will also get an autographed copy of his book which is awesomely title The Audacity of Hope. Needless to say, I am extremely jealous, but I think Marnie and the students she is taking to hear the senator from Illinios will have an amazing time.

If you watched the news at all on Sunday, it was hard to avoid Mr. Obama. He made an "announcement" on Meet the Press with Tim Russert that he was considering running for president in '08. It was all any news show could talk about Sunday late afternoon and evening. Barack was on Larry King, Oprah, the cover of Sojourners and MTP all in one week. I couldn't turn around without hearing about Barack Obama. Personally, I don't trust the guy. Obama sounds an awful lot like Osama. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.

Seriously, though, I think Barack Obama is exactly what the country needs, but not yet. I think we need a four year lame duck President that will de-polarize the country. Then Barack could run in 2012. Alot of the current thinking around Obama is that he should strike while the iron is hot. I think that might be political suicide right now. He hasn't been in the senate that long and quite frankly, I don't think we know how good of a senator he is.

on the other hand, he seems like a big idea guy. A visionary. Our country needs that. He might be able to depolarize the country himself. My in-laws, who are big Fox News watchers, really like him. It might be time for a popular young president with fresh ideas.

I guess my other worry, as an African American, is the popular conspiracy theory that the first black president will be assassinated in office (or before they get into office). Maybe the world isn't like that anymore, but I suspect it is. I don't want to have to celebrate Barack Obama day until twenty years after the end of his two terms and we are all really grateful for what he's done for our country. I don't want it to be a memorial for a great man who died before his time.