Character DOES count.. kinda long

A Character Defining Moment. By Gary Krause

An estimated 1 billion people watched France play Italy in the 2006 World Cup. It's tied 1-1 in extra time, and a penalty shoot-out to decide the match seems likely. It will suit Zinedine Zidane, the French captain. Arguably the best football player inthe world, he is also a speacialist at penalty kicks.

But in the one hundred tenth minute, responding to a verbal taunt from Italian defender Marco Materazzi, ZIndane turns and viciously head-butts him in the chest. It's a primal gesture reminiscent of a wild buffalo. He receives the red card, exits the field in disgrace, and leaves his team wothout their star player.

In a sense, ZIdane's entire career and reputation hung on that one moment as Materazzi fell to the ground. As he walked off into retirement, nobay was talking about how he led his team to the final, the cunning goal that he scored in the seventh minute, or the poetry that seemed to characterize his every move. They were talking about a senseless, violent act.

Of course soccer is just a game--constructed on the simple premise of two teams of 11 men competing to get a ball into a goal space 8 ft high and 24 ft wide. But in a sense each game is a mini-parable of life, parading a range of humanemotion: joy, sadness, conflict, perseverance, team work, hope, dissappointment, pain, committment, courage, weakness, failure.

On occassion, it even displays repentance and forgiveness. But not htis time. "I cannot regret what I did," Zidane said later, justifying his actions because Materazzi had insulted him.

Perhaps Zidane can't feel regret, but millions of soccer fans can. Because after all is said and done, character is more important than kicking a ball with great skill.

Hope that this causes us to stop and evaluate ourselves...

I would have done the same thing...well, maybe not headbutt, but something. Because when someone insults my family, i tend to get violent, just like he did...oh well. And i have to say, that was the best soccer game i've ever watched!

Bethie

Well it serves him right for playing a silly sport, well if you can even call it a sport. The funny part about it, even though 1 billion people watch, and that Zidane was suposed to be the best, I can promise you 3/4 of the people watching didn't even know how he was before in the incident, and probably still don't know him.

Here is something to consider, you can take a person that would never hurt a fly, has never done anything bad or said anything wrong. Then you pump them full of adrenaline and put them in a situation where they have to make a decision like Zidane had to, and I can almost promise you that 9 times out of 10 that person will act completely different then they normally would have.

These are the type of situations that define our lives. With one thoughtless act this mans life has been forever changed. How many of these acts do we all do each day? It's so easy to see the driver that drives drunk & kills someone but how about speeding (I'm guilty)? Our characters are to be so ingrained with Him that regardless of the situation (adrenaline, fear, anger, etc.) we should be able to respond as Jesus would. As far as insulting this player's family who remembers all the insults Christ bore? How would we be different if each act & word we do is deliberate? I guess I'm feeling philosophical today.

L

Linda wrote:

Our characters are to be so ingrained with Him that regardless of the situation (adrenaline, fear, anger, etc.) we should be able to respond as Jesus would.

Key word here is "Should"
I have seen adrenaline, fear and anger make people do things they would never do!

Brian wrote:

Linda wrote:

Our characters are to be so ingrained with Him that regardless of the situation (adrenaline, fear, anger, etc.) we should be able to respond as Jesus would.

Key word here is "Should"
I have seen adrenaline, fear and anger make people do things they would never do!

Which is why organized competitive sports are BAD, BAD, BAD

And Bri- if that is our reaction, what hope do we have to be Christlike?

We have no hope in ourselves! ::beams because she knows the answer::

Ginnifer wrote:

We have no hope in ourselves! ::beams because she knows the answer::

Teacher's pet! (but exactly right)

Ginnifer wrote:

We have no hope in ourselves! ::beams because she knows the answer::

I can just see you beaming... you look good beaming.....

This is good, because I can do little else but beam some days!