Monday, January 24, 2011

It's More Than A Game

East-West Shrine Game is about much more than football
UCF's Bruce Miller: "There's a bigger meaning."
January 20, 2011|By Mike Bianchi, SPORTS COMMENTARY

Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel
Never even thought about it as anything except a college football all-star game that has been played every year seemingly since the beginning of time.
In the mind's eye, the East-West Shrine Game was always that star-studded, post-holiday classic played in some exotic, faraway locale sponsored by a bunch of men wearing funny hats.
But with the game being played at the Citrus Bowl on Saturday, we should all recognize that those Shriners are more about good deeds than funny fezzes. And the East-West Shrine Game is much more than a chance for college football stars to improve their NFL draft status; it's a chance for them to improve the life status of a bunch of sick kids.
"Strong legs run so that weak legs can walk," says George Mitchell, the Imperial Potentate (head honcho) of Shriners International. "Everything we do is geared toward helping the Shriners Hospital for Children."
If ever there were a sporting event for our city to get behind, this is the one. Is there really a better cause than a network of 22 hospitals that offer quality care for kids who are burn victims or have suffered spinal cord injuries or are born with birth defects? These are hospitals that serve thousands of kids worldwide whether their families are able to pay or not.
Kids like 13-year-old Danny Happy, who four years ago had his life altered forever. On July 10, 2007, a private plane shockingly fell from the sky and landed in Danny's home in Sanford. His 4-year-old sister Gabriela died and Danny was burned over 95 percent of his body. Nobody expected him to survive.
He was airlifted to the burn unit at the Shriners Hospital in Cincinnati, where he was put into a medically induced coma so that he wouldn't die from the excruciating pain he was in. Nearly 50 surgeries later, he is a living, breathing testament to the medical miracles that are done by the Shriners.
There will be players in Saturday's game from UCF (defensive end Bruce Miller and offensive tackle Jah Reid), Florida (defensive end Justin Trattou) and Miami (cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke and running back Graig Cooper). If you're a Knight, a Gator or a Hurricane, why not come out to the Citrus Bowl Saturday and support your team? If you're a college football fan, why not come out and watch some of the best players in the nation? Or if you just want to watch a good game and support a good cause, kickoff is 4 p.m.
Too often in these pages, we portray college football as a corrupt sport filled with liars, cheaters and BCS commissioners who have cornered the market on greed. We get inundated with the clanging and clamoring of message board malcontents, bad-tempered bloggers and FireTheCoach.com websites. So seldom do we get to hear the true song of the sport anymore.
Like the sound of Larry Csonka, the Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer who played in the East-West Shrine Game decades ago. He was on TV the other day talking about the game and said something that might surprise you. He said he didn't remember much about the Shrine Game he played in all those years ago. He didn't remember the score or even who won. But what he did remember was the trip he and other players took to the Shriners Hospital.
It's the same story every player who plays in this game will tell you. Every year during Shrine Game week, the players are asked to visit one of the nearby Shriners Hospitals. On Sunday, the players in this year's game were bused over to Tampa to visit the kids.
"There's a bigger meaning to this game," says UCF"s Bruce Miller. "It means a lot more when you're playing for something like this. We're not just out there for ourselves to raise our NFL stock; we're out there raising money for kids who are fighting and battling and struggling with some serious medical issues.
"Visiting these kids in the hospital is one of the most worthwhile things I've ever done. It's great to put a smile on these kids' faces. And you know what? They'll put a smile on your face, too."
If you think Shriners are merely a bunch a crazy guys who wear funny hats and ride miniature motorcycles in parades, think again.
Turns out the men underneath those funny fezzes do some serious good.
Those undersized motorcycles pale in comparison to their oversized hearts.

About the Shrine Game
What: East-West Shrine Game
When: Saturday
Where: Citrus Bowl
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Tickets: $5-$50, available on ticketmaster.com

Thursday, January 20, 2011

FaceBook Fan Page

I really, REALLY hate to have a fan page on Facebook. To me, it feels kinda schmaltzy; like, I’m limited to the number of friends, but fans? Hey, they’re just numbers. Well, I don’t think of any of my connections as just a number. Rather, I think of pretty much everyone I’ve ever met as a friend.
Yet, Facebook makes the rules. And the rules say no more than 5000 friends on a single page, unless it’s a fan page. So, I created one.
If you’re so inclined, please go to my fan page at:

www.FaceBook.com/MarcusEngelSpeaker

I’d love to be able to transfer all my connections over to this fan page and communicate just as actively with it. Until then, thanks to ALL my friends, fans and connections!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Man Ain't Got No Culture

The title is from one of my fav Simon & Garfunkel songs, but the whole idea of culture has been on my mind of late.

I just finished reading Eric Weiner's "The Geography Of Bliss." Weiner, a self proclaimed grump, searches out the happiest and most unhappy places on earth. The most disturbing part of the book was the trip to some eastern block region that starts with an M. I don't remember the name of the country and hope not to ever encounter it again, much less travel there. It's wedged in between Russia and Romania, but doesn't really fit in with either country.

Throughout Weiner's travels through the M country, he consistently ran into this feeling of discontent. Nah, that's too easy. A feeling of anger underlying impotence and despair. For example, an elderly woman gets on the public bus, only to realize she's on the wrong line. As she tries to sort it out with the driver, the other passengers start hurling insults at her, screaming at her for an innocent mistake. Another story came from a meal the author had with a native. At the lunch, the waitress spoke in Russian, the patron spoke in Romanian and each understood the other perfectly. This isn't as much of a nice, tolerent bi-lingual society as you'd imagine. Instead, the two are so stubborn to their ways that, even though they know how to speak the other's language, they simply refuse. An undercurrent of arrogance seems to be present, too.

As Weiner was leaving the country, he came to the realization that unhappiness is so ingrained into this culture that happiness cannot have a chance to survive. If everyone acts in a nearly identical manner, it shows that that is the culture. The herd mentality, if you will.

Bring this into our lives. Okay, my life since it's my blog. I've worked for institutions where the culture is, well, not open and accepting. In these organizations, I've seen the culprit as the trickle down effect. He/she at the top of the organization creates a culture around him/herself of superiority. There's a lack of openness that makes the head honcho seem aloof and unapproachable. That mentality seems to seep into lower ranking positions and then down to the folks the org is supposed to serve.

Now, let's take the alternative of that culture. I don't mind sharing that this happend at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC. In October, I worked with GWU students for the second time. Every time I've been to the university, I've been met with friendliness, acceptance and openness. Is it just southern hospitality? Nah, it's in the culture of the school. The university president helps set the culture.

As I was having dinner with some student athletes in the cafeteria, the university president was just finishing his meal. In the cafeteria. Sitting with students. As he was leaving, he stopped by our table to shake my hand and welcome me to campus. He also thanked me for being there and just showed so much grace. THAT is the culture of happiness and openess. Compare that with university systems where students don't even know the name of the university president. Can GWU students approach the head honcho if they have a problem? You betcha! Can students at other schools do this? Only if the culture is set where the student feels able to do so.

What kind of cultures do you interact with? Do you enjoy those cultures? Or do you, involuntarily, help perpetuate what that culture has for it's bad points? We all have the ability to make a difference in the culture of our organizations...do something positive to help yours.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Negative Nellie In The New Year?

I'm ususally not known for being a negative person. Duh. I make my living showing folks how to find the good in all situations, right?

Well, I'm having a little trouble justifying and figuring out how I feel about the end of 2010 and the start of 2011. In 2010, we dealt with severe economic difficulties, we lost two family members, and (no exaggeration here), I almost died due to medical complications post surgery. All these things combined make me pretty excited to wish a bon voyage to 2010.

Now, my dilemma comes in like this: should I be happy about putting 2010 behind me? Or should I be happy to implement the things I learned for 2011? Both? Neither?

Let's look at some positive things that happened in 2010 to neutralize the negative: I received Garrett, my 2 year old yellow lab Seeing Eye dog, I made plenty of new friends, I published a new book, received the Patient of Courage award from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and still got to wake up every morning with my best friend.

I guess when you break it down, the best we can do is take everything in, both good AND bad things, and do our best to progress and learn from our experiences. And that's exactly what I plan to do in 2011. Happy New Year, friends!