I'm Usually Finding What I'm Looking For

So Super Bowl L, uh, I mean 50 has finally been played and the underdog Denver Broncos have earned the title Super Bowl Champs.That defense that they played practically all year was pretty incredible. We all have seen, read and heard about their troubles on offense, but that defense, well, it was pretty impressive to say the least. It is kind of hard as a KC Chiefs fan to congratulate those Broncos fans (the whole AFC West rivalry thing), but their defense won them a championship. Congrats to all Denver Broncos fans everywhere.

Much has been written and said about Cam Newton's press conference. And, his lack of pouncing "on" or at least "toward" that fumble late in the 4th quarter.  I don't know what is going through his head at that time. Actually no one but Cam really knows but most of us have our opinions. If I am looking for a weakness in Cam, my conclusion might be, "What a wimp! Pounce on the ball man. This game hangs in the balance." If I look at it from a coaching perspective, I might conclude, "He's been coached not to jump in a pile. Bad things happen in those things and especially if you happen to end up on the bottom. I don't want you getting hurt." Didn't he have a couple of back fractures in December 2014 as a result of a car accident?

Cam is demonstrative. He likes to have fun. He dabs and some people hate it. Others, they like it. And then Cam comes up against the best defense in the league this year. It is the biggest stage in American football. The world is watching and he runs, he passes (some are good; some are dropped; some look like I threw them), he scrambles, he gets sacked, and on and on. And his team loses on the world stage that happens to be in Santa Clara, CA. And it is tough. It hurts. And he walks across the field and shakes Peyton's hand (and Peyton says he is humble in their exchange) and Cam walks off the field as the QB of the losing team in Super Bowl 50 but it possibly feels like Super Bowl L to him. And then the press conference. His hoodie is on (not a towel like normal) and for people looking for things to further dislike about him, well, it might add to their fuel. "He's hiding! See, he's a sore loser." Remember that Peyton walked off the field without shaking any opponent's hands after losing to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. He was called a poor sport.

I am guilty of usually finding what I'm looking for. If I don't like Cam Newton or Peyton Manning, I will find the things in them that I do not like and I will make those things who they are. I can do that with co-workers, family members, neighbors, church friends, and especially people on a national stage. It is easy to find negative when I am looking for it. Can anyone say election year?!?

I rarely have all the information. I usually assume I do however and form my opinion on limited information. But I expect others to give me the benefit of the doubt. I am not trying to make Cam or Peyton the point of this blog. I have been made keenly aware through the events of this Super Bowl that I form my opinions and conclusions many times on very limited information. I want that kind of opinion formation to not be true of me any anymore. I choosing to look for the good and commit to obtaining more information before forming my quick judgment. I have a long way to go.

And one more thing, Congrats to Peyton Manning on winning your second Super Bowl. You have had a storied career. I enjoy your Papa John's and Nationwide commercials and your hosting of SNL a few years ago still pretty much owns me. Well done on the football field and if half of what I hear about you serving others is true, then I like you all the more.

AWOL - Latest Update

So . . . it has been awhile. I have no excuses. I just have not blogged. Let me try and do a quick catch up here.

November - the whole family flew to Phoenix, AZ to be support Mark in Ironman AZ. He did an awesome job in some really cruddy weather (rainy and cold) and completed a complete IRONMAN on a broken foot. He is a beast! We had a great Thanksgiving. Sondra and I traveled to east TN and enjoyed our time with Mark's family on his grandparent's farm. Wil had a birthday the end of the month. What a great young man. We are blessed to have him in our family.

December - we all headed to KC for my nephew's wedding in early Dec. It was great to see family

and attend the wedding. James (Jimmy) and Megan had a beautiful wedding (officiated by my dad) and they live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex now. Beautiful couple.
 - Mark had his tonsils removed which is a big deal at 5 and a horrible deal when you are 26. He was down for a couple of weeks.
 - We all spent some time together at Christmas at our house. So blessed to have so much time with our family.

January - it wouldn't be January for the Turners if there was not some kind of medical issue and Morgan took up the slack this year. She had her gallbladder removed after many months of feeling cruddy. She is on the mend and regaining her strength. We had a weekend of lots of snow and then the next weekend of mid-60 degree weather. I'll take the warmer weather every time but the hikes in the woods in the snow with Wil were pretty fun. Only wish Mark would have been here to be with us.

I have been training for IM New Zealand since the week after IM Chattanooga last Sept. It will be nice to not be training. With the race that Mark and I had hoped to do last April in GA (got stormed out) to training for IM Chatt to training for IM NZ, I have been in training mode for a year. I am ready for a break and I know that Sondra sure is. She is the constant supporter and encourager. And . . . I just love that girl.

At the end of this month, we all head to New Zealand for  the race and for an extended vacation. We are in the final stages of planning the itinerary that looks to include sky diving, bungee jumping, trekking and seeing lots of locales featured in the Lord of the Rings movies.

I commit to blogging more. Not because I need to be noticed, but because I need to redevelop the discipline.

Watch for blogs about politics, rants about our government, etc. (Not going to happen. I was just seeing if you were still reading.)