I have a lot of fun with March Madness. One of my most-read blogs of every year is when I pick the entire NCAA tournament based on which Mascot would win in a fight. Its silly, a little juvenile, sometimes humorous, and hopefully informative. This story about March Madness though, is none of those things. This is a story of an unlikely friendship. It is about how we can be inspired by each other, and draw strength from others. There’s a cynical part of me that gets tired of worn out cliches about sports.
The way we idolize sports figures is troubling. Sometimes it is absolutely dangerous. There are times I want to quit sports all together, just wash my hands of the whole dirty, bloody, idolatrous affair. I know, however, that I can never give up sports all together. Sports are a part of my history, my family, my very being. Yet I get weary of the packaging of sports. I get tired of the human interest story. I get tired of the coach-worship. I get tired of lazy metaphors and the emotional manipulation. Just when I’m about to give up on believing that sports are anything more than a distraction from what really matters, I come across something like this.
So the cynic in me wonders: Is this just another fluff piece thrown together by a media outlet with an interest in showing the “good side” of sports? Is this just another attempt at making an athlete more than we ought? Is this just another case of emotional manipulation? It’s hard to judge how much of this video is real, and how much is good story telling. There are two things that are undeniably true in this video. Lacey’s struggle, and Lacey’s smile. That’s all that matters.
All of the sudden sports have won me over again, and the Spartans have another fan. Go Green. Go White. Go Lacey!
The Fat Pastor 