I think most would admit that NFL football players are really tough. And
that on any Sunday they dominate TV all across the US of A. But there was one
night in 1968, where a little Swiss girl by the name of Heidi beat the NFL. And
I was there, in my parents den, watching it on TV, Channel 4 out of NYC. Any
football fan knows of what I talk, the Jets had just kicked a field goal,
putting them ahead of the Raiders with just over a minute left. As a Jet fan,
and a big Joe Willie Namath fan, all was well with the world, and then the NBC
peacock came on, what the #$%^ was going on? And then this movie about some
little girl in the mountains of Switzerland began-were they nuts? What happened
to our game? And what had happened we wouldn’t find out until the next morning
when reading the sports page of the Star Ledger, which I used to deliver.
Raiders win 43-32! What? And what had seemed like the end for us, was really
just the middle for the Raiders and the Jets. The Raiders scored a touchdown
after the kickoff in only three plays, and then the Jets fumbled the next
kickoff, and Preston Ridlehuber-his real name, picked it up for the Raiders and
they scored again. Not only had we missed the end of a great game-if you were a
Raider fan, but the Jets lost, and NBC made the goof of the year, if not in the
history of the NFL. And soon directives were given, and no game was ever to be
interrupted until it was over. But on that night in 1968, November 17th was to
go down in infamy, and forever known as the Heidi Bowl, and NBC lost it for
us. And every time Heidi comes on, we remember, and quickly change channels, we
won’t get fooled again. Long before there was a Raider Nation, there was
Heidi. And does anyone know what ever became of Preston Ridlehuber?
It is amazing how one flip of a switch turned the middle into the end. The
game wasn’t over, just the coverage. How many times have you walked out of a
game after the 7th inning stretch, your team losing, only to listen on the way
home they won in the 9th on a home run. Mention Game 6 to any Met fan, we
know. I almost turned it off that night, so disappointed in their season ending
that night-to the Red Sox of all teams. But being a Met fan since they were the
Mets, I had to watch. And just as the ball went through Buckner’s legs, and Ray
Knight crossed home plate, I jumped out of my chair, at the same time
Christopher and Theresa came in the front door, surprising both of them. The
Mets win! I had come within seconds of missing one of the greatest endings in
sports history. I had seen the end, if I had turned it off, while the game
still being played, I would have left in the middle. Another great example of
patience, timing, and a lesson that what you choose to be the ending, may really
be the middle. And like Yogi says, “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Maybe he
knew something we don’t, if only NBC did that night.
As a kid I remember watching a movie called the Incredible Journey, about a
Siamese cat named Tao, and two dogs, who got separated from their owners on
vacation. The end as far as the family thought, but the middle for the pets, as
they found their way home, hence the name. Again, giving up had created a
premature end, when really the story wasn’t over. Just in the middle. Which is
really where we spend most of our time, in the midst of life. As we get older
we have midlife crisis, we become middle aged, and look back when we can be
looking ahead. Even Jesus tells us He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning
and the end, but we spend all of our lives in the middle. We don’t remember the
beginning, although my friend Chet claims he can remember being in his mother’s
womb, no photo evidence to prove it either way, and we won’t remember the end.
So we spend most of our life, and all we will remember in the middle, being
impatient and ending many events and memories while they are still in progress,
in the middle. But for those who trust Jesus, the end is really a new
beginning, and we enter into heaven, where all traces of the past are gone-an
eternal right now in heaven with Jesus. No looking back, no looking ahead, an
eternal middle. And not a bad way to look at right now either. You see Yogi’s
brag about it not being over until it’s over, may work in sports, but it doesn’t
play in eternity. We will all spend eternity somewhere, the only end will be
when we die here on earth, but we can choose where we spend all time to come,
the eternal middle. Those who are Born Again, and give their lives to Jesus
will never die-heaven awaits. But for those who don’t , they will wish they
had, as hell is a bad place, weeping, loneliness, eternal darkness, unbearable
pain, and a separation from God-forever. Just like they wanted, just not
knowing that is what they would get. If only they had another chance at the
middle again, how different would the outcome be for them.
And so in life, as I sports, we play the game until time runs out, or the
innings are gone. Today is the middle for you, for us. Any plans for tomorrow
and where we will spend it should be made now, for no man is promised tomorrow.
Only God controls the end, and the beginning, we only have input on the middle.
For the Jets, we all missed the ending. For Preston Ridlehuber, no one saw his
15 seconds of fame. If game 6 had ended only an out earlier, the Mets would not
have gone on to win the 1986 World Series. And if you don’t give your life to
Jesus today, you will miss out on heaven. Forever. For in life, the end may
only be the middle, but the end for Christians is only the beginning. No play
challenging, no instant replay, no reversals. One end will be the end, the
other a beginning. You make the call.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com