To illustrate the main point of today\u2019s post, we could focus on the recent, 94th Academy Awards. But Hollywood seems increasingly less popular and even lesser in touch with the totality of society. Sometimes I think we celebrate the wrong things. This year’s show, no less, got exponentially more attention; granted, it had nothing to do with the movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We could also illustrate our main point by focusing on the pair of NCAA final fours: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova will grind it out on the gridiron for the men; UConn, Stanford, South Carolina and Louisville will compete for the women\u2019s crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the point: a singular crown\u2026 society\u2019s passion for a sole victor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seven years ago we penned a post that to this day still makes me smile. It\u2019s simply a sweet way God works when the wisdom comes from the mouth of a babe. We think we know so much; sometimes the \u201cbabes\u201d know more\u2026 and we can actually see it\/learn from it\/grow if we are humble and willing enough to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Intramuralist then focused on our need to always \u201cpick one\u201d \u2014 emphasis on the one. <\/strong>We make everything a competition\u2026 from TIME\u2019s<\/em> \u201cPerson of the Year\u201d to People\u2019s<\/em> \u201cSexiest Man Alive\u201d to \u201cBest New Artist,\u201d \u201cBest Picture,\u201d \u201cBest Actress\u201d and \u201cBest Actor\u201d \u2014 the latter to whom there\u2019s little need to pay more attention to at the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The point is that we crave picking one. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m simply not sure that\u2019s always necessary or wisest. I\u2019m also not alone in that thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, in illustrating the main point of today\u2019s post, allow me to share a bit of a common pastime. According to the American Gaming Association, roughly 70 million NCAA Tournament brackets are filled out each year. A majority of us submit more than one, with it estimated that some 40 million Americans take part in this process. Our family is no different. Seven years ago, my \u201cbabe\u201d taught me more\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was keenly struck by something I found wadded up. This sheet was crumpled in the corner in one of my son\u2019s upstairs bedrooms (\u2026I know\u2026 shocking that I would find anything on the floor of a teenager\u2019s room\u2026).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet when I slowly unfurled this crumpled sheet, I found a goldmine of wisdom. Here, roughly designed with undoubtedly valiant efforts at perceived symmetry, was a bracket created by my 13 year old, sports fan son with special needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He did not use a pre-printed bracket, however; he crafted his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On both the left and the right, he drew slots for 16 teams, thus including 32 entries. But this bracket had a different title up top. It said nothing about the Men\u2019s NCAA Tournament Championship. Instead, boldly printed on the top of the page was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBRACKIT FOR BEST MAN AND TEAM\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then down the sides of the page, I sat still as I read the names. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There I would find the listings of my son\u2019s father\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 and his brothers\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 some aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did chuckle at one point \u2014 realizing Josh must have ran out of names to write \u2014 when added to his most creative \u201cbrackit\u201d were LeBron James, the University of Florida, and Zipper, our cat. But I loved and absolutely admired his precious list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My only pondering was why he never completed the bracket \u2014 why it was instead crumpled up and discarded to his floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So I soon found my sweet son and asked him, \u201cTell me. Why no best man and team?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To which my wise son instantly responded. The babe didn\u2019t miss a beat. He said, \u201cThere are lots of good teams. It doesn\u2019t matter. Winning and losing are the same\u2026 if you win, you\u2019re awesome; if you lose, you\u2019re still awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one had to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the mouth of babes\u2026 oft they are wiser than we\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To illustrate the main point of today\u2019s post, we could focus on the recent, 94th Academy Awards. But Hollywood seems increasingly less popular and even lesser in touch with the totality of society. Sometimes I think we celebrate the wrong things. This year’s show, no less, got exponentially more attention; granted, it had nothing to … <\/p>\n