Pep Talk: "Not Afraid To Be Brave!"

The featured speaker walked confidently toward the podium, stepped upon a box to elevate her diminutive stature and began to share. The words flowed as the attentive crowd listened and learned. A first-grader. An LSU Tiger fan. A young lady with big dreams.

The remarks came at the Seeds of Hope gala in downtown Denver. The annual event  raises money to provide scholarships for Catholic school education. Poised and pretty, Noelle Carrington concluded with this zinger: “I’m not afraid to be brave and let my light shine.”

I wanted to jump from my chair and shout, “You go girl!”

A six-year-old’s words have been resonating inside the noggin’ of a simple dude from Missouri ever since. Especially in the wake of a nation in turmoil. The decision came down in Ferguson, Missouri. The debate is nationwide. It is marred by violence. It’s visible evidence that, as a nation, we have much work to do in achieving goals and overcoming challenges in areas concerning race, representation and responsibility. Division. To steal a sports term, describing a team in trouble, “Not on the same page.”

Where is it time for something different? Not just concerning race, representation and responsibility, but for whatever ails? Home? Work? Elsewhere?

Help me understand a few things. How does a community allow a police force to become so misrepresentative of its citizenry? Tragically, a young man’s life was terminated but what if, when the officer asked the deceased and friend to quit walking down the middle of the street, the answer was, “Sure officer.”

Would we be having a different conversation? And, what if, an 18-year-old and buddy had not put police on high alert after the irresponsible act of stealing cigars and other stuff from a nearby convenience store?

There’s plenty of room for improvement on each side of these divisive issues. There usually is whenever blame games are played. Opportunity is knocking for a powerful and productive force to “not be afraid to be brave and let its light shine.” 

Victory Productions is trying. The “A Stronger Cord” project is calling out the men of America. Let’s come together. Warm up. Work out. Hang out. Sweat. Bond. Grow. ASC challenges men to grow stronger body, mind and spirit. It encourages participants to become fitness-minded, dependable and productive dudes. ASC believes that type of spirit helps us build stronger cords with families, workforces and communities. It starts with the workout.

Things must change. Tensions must lessen. Exercise reduces tension, fosters teamwork and is a great equalizer. Men of all colors working together. It reminds me of successful sports teams. Brothers. Yoked. One Heart Beat. Over the years, this knucklehead has played, reported and coached on a few.

We need to heed Noelle’s words. A first-grader at St. Francis De Sales is the shining light. Where can we make a difference? Where are the Ferguson’s? This week, do not be afraid to be brave!

Pep Talk: "Travel Advisory"

“I have been deprived of peace and have forgotten what prosperity is.”

It was a cool November evening along Colorado’s Front Range when those words were muttered. They came from a reserved young man - early 20‘s - living at The Crossing, a facility run by the Denver Rescue Mission. Heartfelt words. Delivered to an aging ol’ jock, in a dimly-lit area near where, in a few minutes, a bunch of knuckleheads, from all walks of life, would workout together. A Stronger Cord. It starts the workout. Sweating, bonding and challenging one another to grow stronger body, mind and spirt.

A tender soul was sharing from deep within. I was blessed to be witnessing it. Can you imagine, being deprived of peace and to have forgotten what prosperity is? Sure you can. Stuff. It happens. Rocks our world. The depravation of peace might arrive via illness, divorce, poor choices or whatever else ails us. Life. A roller coaster.

Anyway, hours later, I awoke early the next morning thinking of this dude’s words and remembered, “I’ve got laundry in the dryer.”

So it’s about 2:30am on a Friday. Sleepily shuffling from bedroom to laundry area on the second floor of our home, the trek takes this simple dude from Missouri right past pictures of the kids. One of them taken long ago. It’s a family shot. A single father and his two wonderful children. The kids are now 24 and 17 respectively. This photograph has to be at least a decade old.

I walk past it all the time. But it was different this time. I looked at me. Flanked by a son and daughter. The words, “I have been deprived of peace and have forgotten was prosperity is” seemed to be etched on my face. A quick check of the facts at the time a friend and talented photographer shot the portrait: recently divorced for the second time, long-held and cherished Denver television sports position as the “Buff Guy” eliminated. Self esteem lower than whale dung. A terrible trio.

I’m smiling in the picture but trust me folks, inside? I was deprived of peace and was struggling to remember what prosperity is. We all have been there and, in all likelihood, will continue to have moments threatening to take us there. Isolated in misery. Solitary confinement of the mind. It sucks.

What to do about it? We can’t buy into the lie that we’re alone in suffering. There’s many folks experiencing similar crap. Go find them. Engage. Rally around each other. Encourage. Give hope and confidence to one another. Set sail on a new journey.

Travel advisory: Don’t make the trek solo. These days it seems many disdain group travel. Not for this voyage. Be ready, willing and able to hunker down in a cabin with others. It might be bumpy. Deck chairs may fly. But once the storms pass, the sun will come out. Rough seas shall calm. Peace and prosperity can return!

Pep Talk: "Mike's Cap"

“Hey dude. Is it okay if I keep my Royals’ cap on?”

The question came from a guy I have always admired. The successful lawyer happens to be my older brother. The dude has always had my back. For that I will be forever grateful.

One of my greatest honors in high school was being asked by the then pre-law student at Central Missouri State in Warrensberg, Missouri, to make the 45-mile drive from our hometown of Raytown to the CMSU campus. Older bro and buddies needed a quarterback for their intramural football team. Four years younger, a southpaw from Ray-South was more than eager to oblige. Along with buddy “Stump” we’d hit the road for some football and fun. You kidding me? A chance to fling the football around and then hang with the college guys and gals. Once, the brakes went out on our beat-up truck we drove to the games. Other that, memories exude - they are good.

Anyway, older brother, devoted wife Jana and their three boys made the trek from Kansas City to Denver for our recent wedding. This wonderful event happened to correspond with the Kansas City Royals’ first post-season and World Series’ appearance in almost 30 years. Long-suffering fans jubilant. The once-proud franchise, with many great players including Hall of Famer George Brett, had fallen on hard-times for a long time. I grew up a Royals’ fan.

It was a time to celebrate. I could understand why brother wanted to keep his cap on during family wedding photos. Without hesitation, darling wife Kathy and I responded, “Heck ya!” It’s one of the many reasons I love the darling Chicago-born bride so dearly. We make a good team on that kind of stuff. I’m blessed.

So recently the wedding photos came back and we’ve been looking at them. So many cool pictures. Shameless plugs here for wedding planner Rami Carter and photographer  Casey Wigotow. If you’re looking for either for nuptials, they’re talented and fun to work with. One of the most anticipated “wanting to see” pictures was of Michael Chester McIntosh. In a shot of groom and siblings. My mentor of many things, grinning like a Cheshire cat with the beautifully-inscriptive “KC” cap atop cranium. The four of us: younger brother Matt, sister Sue, the knucklehead sharing this tale and the Royals’ biggest fan. Cool shot. Might make a nice Christmas gift to the clan.

Mike’s cap makes it even cooler. “Be Royal!” was the battle cry coming from the Midwest this summer as the Royals caught fire and swept into the World Series. As a long-time sports dude here in the Mile High City, it was eerily similar of the 2007 Colorado Rockies improbable run to the Fall Classic, The teams couldn’t lose. They just had a spirit about them. Losing was not an option. Amazing to watch.

Royalmania was feverish. Infected many. Everybody had jumped on the band wagon. The mood of the city lifted by a baseball team. A small-market team showing the big boys it can be done. The players, coaches and fans, united as one. You see that happen all the time in sports. At all levels. A team united and achieving success. Many get swept up in its euphoric tide.

Communities rally around their prep, college and professional sports. Folks get caught up in the hoopla of dreams being realized. You hear all this talk about teamwork being the key to success. Sacrifice. Hard Work. Overcoming Adversity. You hear the same message from most successful endeavors, right? That victory, in whatever pursued, will take a commitment to something bigger than us. As a television and radio sports guy, it was my job to cover those types of teams over the years. Trust me folks, few players, coaches, general managers, owners or athletic directors talk about anything but team when surviving long into the championship chase. 

For those fortunate enough to have experienced such a buzz, sports or elsewhere, wise folks realize it’s a united effort. One of those “together everyone achieves more” moments that, eternally, burrow into marrow. Experiences proving, dreams can become reality.

Just a simple dude from Missouri’s opinion, but, the key is we have to realize the importance of life being about something bigger than us. It’s true for the Royals. It’s true for the McIntosh family. It’s true for you. Your family. Any team, business, non profit, church or whatever. The venue changes but the strategy is the same. We gotta work as a team, learn from our experiences, understand it will not go according to plan, adjust and fight to the finish. Simple. Not easy.

It certainly worked for the Royals who took San Francisco to seven games before losing the 2014 World Series to the Giants’ and superlative pitcher Madison Bumgarner. It will work for everybody involved with Victory’s A Stronger Cord project. It will work for anything we’re involved in - home, work and elsewhere.

It takes sacrifice of self for something bigger than us. A team. A cause. A family. A school. A - fill in the blank.

I love our wedding pictures. One of the most cherished will be the shot of yours truly with siblings. Mike’s cap. Blue and white. Forever a reminder of that age-old truth, “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit.”

It ain’t about us. It’s about something bigger.