Early on in our marriage, as we were attempting to merge two hearts, households, hedge funds, etc., my spouse came up with a regular saying and reminder. It is one he has long repeated, especially when the going gets tough and the tough get going.<\/p>\n
He simply says, \u201cWe\u2019re on the same team.\u201d<\/strong> It\u2019s simple. But also true and profound.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something beautiful about recognizing we\u2019re all on the same team \u2014 where we root together for what\u2019s bigger, instead of divisively getting lost, forgetting we\u2019re all in this life together.<\/p>\n As I watch the seemingly big, 2018 NCAA basketball tournament come to a close, I have found something that reminds me of the bigger. We are not truly divided into Jayhawk, Rambler, Wildcat, or Wolverine fans. We are all, simply fans.<\/em><\/p>\n Sister Jean, the spunky 98 year old chaplain of Loyola Chicago\u2019s men\u2019s basketball team, reminds us of that. Her words and presence remind us of what\u2019s bigger\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThings turn out well when you work as a team, when you share the ball and you\u2019re so kind to each other. And when you really like each other. That\u2019s what happens with these young men, they really like each other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re having what I call fun on the court. If you don\u2019t have fun when you\u2019re playing, you\u2019re not relaxed enough to get the ball into the basket.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And in response to a question asking if she\u2019s the difference in regard to the Ramblers\u2019 newfound success, \u201cOh, no. God\u2019s been the difference and the young men.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I love it. Here in a world that daily comes up with new ways to divide themselves, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt reminds us of what\u2019s bigger.<\/p>\n Look at how these impressionable young Loyola players respond\u2026<\/p>\n From Marques Townes, \u201cHer presence and her aura, when you see her \u2014 it’s just like the world is just great because just her spirit and her faith in us and Loyola basketball and just her being around.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Said Donte Ingram, \u201cShe\u2019s like another coach. [In my first ever game], it caught me off guard. I thought she was just going to pray. She prayed, but then she starts saying, \u2018You\u2019ve got to box out and watch out for 23.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And said guard Clayton Custer, “For her to be doing what she’s doing at her age, it’s amazing, and it’s inspiring. And I think, I mean, I think her prayers definitely mean a little bit extra when she prays for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Interestingly, many in the sports media have recently run stories discussing how in the wake of the scandals hitting college basketball, we\u2019ve been in need of a \u201cfeel good\u201d story. As so editorialized by The Guardian Weekly:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 If you wanted to hope for a spiritually redemptive script for college basketball to follow, one could do worse than a series of games in which the sinning teams were punished and the lower seeds inherited the later rounds.<\/em><\/p>\n If you were to write this story, filled with unlikely game-winning moments that we reflexively call \u2018miracles,\u2019 why wouldn\u2019t you include a basketball-obsessed nun helping her team achieve improbable victories? You don\u2019t have to be religious in the slightest to understand that it would make a fantastic story if Loyola somehow made it the Final Four \u2013 or beyond \u2013 under Sister Jean\u2019s watch.<\/em><\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, even Sister Jean thinks that this is unlikely. After Loyola\u2019s defeat of Tennessee she admitted that she only had them going to the Sweet Sixteen in her bracket, not any further.<\/em><\/p>\n She knows, as we all do, that sporting events aren\u2019t morality plays. Still, a part of us wants to believe: even a staunch atheist will often lapse into talk of faith and belief when it comes to their team. That\u2019s a big reason why Sister Jean has resonated so strongly with fans. She represents the pure and good in a game that is so often corrupt.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you, Sister Jean, for reminding us of something bigger.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026 Early on in our marriage, as we were attempting to merge two hearts, households, hedge funds, etc., my spouse came up with a regular saying and reminder. It is one he has long repeated, especially when the going gets tough and the tough get going. He simply says, \u201cWe\u2019re on the same team.\u201d It\u2019s simple. … <\/p>\n
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"