Welcome to Day #15 in this series on my brother. My dad has graciously written another post on the subject of The Brian Influence. If you have missed any of the days in this series click on the “31 Days with My Brother” tab near the top of this blog to view previous posts.
Well, to get to a football game at Notre Dame, you need friends in high
places, and that friend was a lady we met at a wedding reception of a
good friend’s daughter. Over dinner conversation in South Bend, the
subject of ND football came up, and a lady named Hilda told us that
occasionally some of their friends have tickets that they can’t use, and
asked if we would be interested, which, of course, we would! A year
and a half later, I received a phone call at work, and Hilda was
offering two tickets to the ND/UCLA game that Saturday!
Brian and
I had a dream-filled Saturday at Notre Dame. A couple of fans not
only showed us which bus to take from the mall to the game, but they
went with us, and took us right to the Convocation Center to meet Hilda
and pick up the tickets. A few minutes later the glee club
showed up to serenade the fans, and then we went to our seats to
experiences the ND aura: fans lustily sang the Star-Spangled Banner and
the alma mater; the jets flew over at just the right moment; leprechauns
directed the cheers. But, most of the afternoon went UCLA’s way, and
with 1:21 left on the clock and ND trailing, Brady Quinn got his
chance. I whispered to Brian, “Watch for sideline passes to Joel S.”
Three straight passes to the team’s leading receiver, with the third
going for fifteen yards and a touchdown, and the Fighting Irish escaped
with a thrilling win. With Brian at my side, we were treated like
princes throughout the day.
Brian shares dual loyalties to
ND and my daughter’s alma mater very well. Once
while attending a Spring scrimmage there, Brian was given a dog-tag type
necklace, worn only by the team, by the director of football
operations. Later, while collecting team autographs, Brian got his
picture taken with the four quarterbacks, which showed up as the front
of a t-shirt. And then, at a post-game reception, the coach walked
over, looked Brian in the eye, and talked with him, and handed him a
bracelet that only the team wears during the season!
This past Friday night, Brian and I walked on the field with a friend of
the family to greet this college team before their nationally-televised
game against another school.
Deep Breaths: Recall a time when you experienced a Divine Appointment- a time where you clearly saw God’s hand at work, working behind the scenes to orchestrate something way beyond what you could have imagined.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”