When my parents moved to Colorado in the 80’s naturally the Broncos became our family’s team.  I remember learning the game and rules of football from my dad and brother in our den on Sunday afternoons.

I remember “The Drive,” from John Elway as really being the first time I was amazed at football.  I had just seen a quarterback go 98 yards with minutes left, and the team ended up winning. No one thought they could do it. Everyone had counted them out- except them, as John Elway told his teammates in the huddle on their own two yard line, “We got ‘em right where we want ‘em.” 

When the Broncos finally won their first Super Bowl against Green Bay, it was monumental for Colorado.  Living in one of the biggest sports towns in the country, I don’t think there will ever be a championship that meant more to the fans, or will ever rival the emotion of that first Super Bowl victory for Denver.  The Broncos weren’t supposed to have won that game either.  But the poise and leadership of John Elway had won out in the end.

As I think back about growing up watching football, and specifically the Broncos, it was a different time.  John Elway, who was any Bronco fan’s idol, was a person of character.  He worked hard. He had a family. He was someone kids could look up to-and did. The thought of him being caught with a gun outside a nightclub, running an illegal dog fighting ring, being charged with domestic violence, whining on the sidelines,  or having a 40 million dollar drug operation on the side, would have never crossed our minds in a million years.

Fast forward to today, and I have pretty much come to hate all professional sports.  It is sad really.  In the span of about 20 years, there are very few sport athletes I would want my boys to even know who they are, let alone look up to.  For that reason I follow sports very lightly now, and have hardly ever even watched a professional sports game with my kids. Being a Bronco fan though, I have kept up with it all.

I don’t have to recap all the ups and downs- mainly downs- the Broncos have been through since John Elway retired in 1999. The one thing that I always noticed though, was the spark seemed to be gone.  No one seemed “hungry” to win. Oh, there were some good moments and good games, but the leadership and motivation seemed to be lacking on a consistent basis since Elway retired.

Until now.  I was NOT happy about Tim Tebow being drafted to the Broncos.  I didn’t think they needed another quarterback, and it seemed like a power play with the then coach, Josh McDaniels, and the then quarterback, Jay Cutler.

At the start of this year, I wasn’t convinced.  To be fair, his “Tebowing” and display of Christianity was odd to me.  It seemed like an act- like he was trying to win over the fans with an “alter boy” image. In a day and age where most professional ball players are concerned with number 1: their endorsements, status, women, and money, a young, good looking, quarterback professing his faith in the Lord after a touchdown, just didn’t fit the mold for what we have grown used to seeing.  I half expected him to be busted with a prostitute and drugs his first few weeks here.

As the weeks went on and Tim Tebow continued to play, we all watched.  We shook our heads.  We didn’t believe it.  We wanted to believe Tim Tebow could really be for real-but is he?  I let my boys start watching games.  I noticed the team seemed revived and hungry again to win. I saw the spark back.  I saw Tim Tebow doing his thing, and always giving praise not to himself, but to whom he felt he deserved it. Yes, that includes his Lord and teammates.  I saw his locker room interviews where he is soft spoken and polite- week after week. If it is an act, he shouldn’t be playing football- he should be an actor.

I realized a few weeks ago, Tim Tebow is a football player, but he is also someone of character.  Someone who works hard, and someone kids- my kids- can look up to. Not as a football player who makes a lot of money for playing, but as someone who works hard, hangs in there, stays true to himself, motivates others, and doesn’t give up.

I told my boys tonight as we were watching the Broncos and Steelers game, that it didn’t matter who won, because both teams were playing their best, and that is what really matters- that you do your best.   I told them as overtime started, I thought the Broncos were going to win, because they believed in themselves- you could see it by the way they were playing.  My boys loved watching Tim Tebow, and  Ryan was jumping up and down, and cheering his head off at the end of the game.

I felt good my boys can watch a football game like that, and cheer for Tim Tebow, and I don’t have to worry about hearing him shooting someone in a club tonight in the post game party.  It’s nice to know even when they lose he still displays good sportsmanship. I don’t know what will happen with the Broncos, and Tim Tebow, but it is fun to enjoy the moment again.

Odd as it is, as I was tucking the boys in tonight and they told me again, they couldn’t believe that pass Tim Tebow made, it dawned on me that there has been a lesson here all along.  I told my kids about it, without even realizing it at the time.  It is one a lot of people in Denver are saying: Believe.

Maybe we have all grown too cynical to really believe working hard pays off anymore- most of the time it isn’t what you know but whom you know to get ahead.  Maybe we’ve grown accustomed to character flaws when the going gets tough.  But in my little corner of the world, this Tim Tebow seems to defy that.  He wasn’t supposed to do any of the things he’s accomplished this year.  We might have stopped or never believed in the first place, but he does.

Whatever happens with football, it is a game. As a mother, I wish there were more professional athletes our kids could have as heroes, because I do think sports mirror life a lot of times.  If the worst Tim Tebow does is go down on a knee to do his “Tebowing” after a score,  I’d much rather explain that to my kids, as I have done,  than explaining why he is in jail for committing a crime.

It isn’t just about winning a football game, but the character and mind set you need to have to keep believing, and staying true to yourself when things are tough.  It’s easy to forget at times- we all have moments of self doubt. But as I saw the sparkle in my boys’ eyes tonight, I have to conclude sometimes reminders are found in places we would never expect- like from a Denver Broncos quarterback.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, every ornament was hung, from here to there. 

When Mom thought she was done, the children begged her to hang more lights just for fun.  

While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads, Mom secretly hoped it would soon be time for the children to go to bed, so the decorating could end.

When the children were nestled all snug in their beds, “Finally, the decorating is done,“ Mom said. 

She collapsed on the couch, and thought with all work at the holidays she need the help of an elf. She looked around at all the lights in the dark, and smiled in spite of herself.

The house was quite cheery, and it was a beautiful site. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness, where we didn’t celebrate holidays, Christmas included. My parents at the time, told me flat out Santa was a lie parents told their children. The “church” also pointed out that “Santa” rearranged is “Satan.”  I never received gifts from Santa, and never faced the question if he was real.   My parents relaxed some of their views years later, my mom even left the religion and we celebrated a few very happy Christmases before she passed away.  But, I realized I was never left an example to fall back on regarding how and what to tell a child about Santa.

Since I never was allowed to celebrate Christmas as a child, I have lived it for the first times, mainly through the eyes of my children.  Christmas has been some of the happiest times and best memories I have so far of the boys.  It is magical. The excitement they have when they see the presents Santa has left for them under the tree- there is nothing like it.

I also think, part of the excitement is in realizing there is something good and positive which is “bigger” than them, at work.  I think it fills their hearts with a sense of security in knowing there is this nice man who just brings good kids presents.  It is simple- simple for young children to accept and believe.  Not so simple as the children get older.

I asked Ryan if he believed Santa was real, and he said, “No.”  I quickly tried to relay the idea of Santa , before Cole came downstairs and heard. I tried to tell him Santa is everywhere if you believe.  He started to cry in frustration.  I told him we would talk about it after dinner, when Cole was playing.

I thought about all through dinner and asked my friends on Facebook for advice.  After dinner, I took him in my room, shut the door, and cuddled with him on my bed.  I still didn’t really know what to say, but sometimes all you can do is follow what your heart tells you.  I took a deep breath, and told Ryan I had something to tell him about Santa.  I told him it was only for him to know right now, and he couldn’t tell Cole, or any other kids at school.

His face lit up. So far so good. I told him Christmas is a magical time of year when we all get reminders of love. One way people do that is by giving each other gifts.  I told him Santa helps the parents give gifts to their children.  He asked, “So you are Santa?”

I didn’t want to lie to Ryan but I didn’t want to quash his hopes and belief in the good Santa stands for.  In an instant it became clear to me and I said, “We are all Santa, Ryan. The parents help Santa with presents and Santa helps the parents.  Santa is the good, magical, and love in all of us, and this gets shown so much at Christmas.  Santa needs all of our help to do this everyday, but especially at Christmas.”

He looked a little confused and I continued, “Do you know how happy you feel when you help me, or do something nice for Cole?”  He told me yes. “Well, you are being like Santa when you do these things.  You are giving to people, and that is what Santa is all about. So I think he is very real, because if you look for him, you will see him every day, not just at Christmas.”

He said he felt better and I told him he was old enough now to be trusted with this.  I told him little kids like Cole though, don’t think of all the questions he has, so this year he gets to help Santa with Cole.

He smiled and gave me a hug, and I told him once more before we opened the door, that this was an important thing to know, and Santa was counting on him now.  He said he knew, nodded his head, and off he went to play with Cole.

I realized later tonight, in the almost seven years since my baby had his first Christmas, it itsn’t entirely up to me anymore to have him believe in Santa.  He is becoming his own person, with his own ideas and thoughts.  He will have to decide for himself what he thinks about Santa.

I hope some of what I told him, helped him get a grasp that Santa may not be an actual guy in a red suit, with reindeer, who comes down a chimney.  I think that was the part he was having a hard time believing.  But I hope it opened up to him the ideas of what Santa really is, if he believes.

Ryan's First Christmas, 2004

If you haven’t heard, former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, has been accused of sexually assaulting at least eight victims, young boys for 15 years, and some of the rapes and assaults were witnessed right on Penn State’s campus.  As the developments continue, is it well known by now, the athletic director, some coaching staff, and the vice president for finance and business, knew about Sandusky’s actions, never stopped him, never reported the allegations to police, and even allowed him to continue having free reign on the university campus, years after the first allegation was reported. 

On Wednesday, the board of trustees fired head football coach for 46 years, Joe Paterno.  Some rioting occurred among students over the dismissal of Paterno.  It is hard to fathom, Paterno who was in charge of the football program for almost 50 years, wasn’t aware of the allegations surrounding Sandusky.  Paterno even admitted he “wish he had done more,” and it is “one of the great sorrows of my life.”

I think Paterno and countless others at Penn State, had ample opportunities over the years to “do more,” to stop Sandusky. Why didn’t they? It appears they aren’t sorry, they helped and protected a known sexual predator for years abuse at least 8 victims who have come forward, but they are awfully sorry the whistle has been blown, and the gig is up. 

As a mother, parent, and human being, it is mind boggling how Sandusky was allowed to continue.  After a witness came forward and said he saw Sandusky raping a 10 year old in the Penn State football locker room shower, how could not just that allegation alone, send all kinds of red flags to university officials? What grown man has any business whatsoever being in a shower with a 10 year old boy?

Not reporting alleged allegations to the police speaks volumes on the culture in the Penn State football program. Football is a game. At times, an important game, but it is a game nevertheless.  Rape and sexual assault is a CRIME, and rape of children is abhorrent.  By law, every single person who suspected, was told about, had heard, or knew about Sandusky was required to report the sexual abuse allegations to police.  No one ever did.  They all kept it to themselves and within, to assumably protect their football program. That’s a crime and a disgusting commentary on placing more value on winning, being successful, etc. than following the law, and protecting children from the known and repeating sexual predator among their own.

As more and more details emerge on Sandusky and his alleged crimes, it gets more sickening.  The most disturbing part for me is Penn State, Joe Peterno, and the staff should have been looking out for these boys. Their parents entrusted their care and well being to these university officials. There comes a time in every child’s life, when we, as their parents, have to turn their care and well being over to others. Parents and children have a right to expect when their children are in the care of coaches, that position of trust will not be abused.  Penn State failed and abused this trust on every level, for years. For what? So they could have winning football seasons? This never, never, should have happend on the level it did. 

It is sad and scary as a parent to think, even when there are witnesses, reporting to officials sexual abuse is happening, it is covered up, so the precious sports program is protected.  It appears if boys have to be raped so the university can keep winning at football, then so be it.   Where is the human decency here? 

This incident will have me on the lookout for my boys’ welfare for years. It feels like the noose is tightening on assuming your children are safe with people they should be safe with.  We can’t trust them with clergy members anymore, we can’t trust them with Boy Scout leaders, and now we can’t trust them with coaches.

Has winning at all costs become so important, we overlook and turn away when young, innocent victims are being abused? If you ask the victims of Sandusky and their families, and most of the country, sadly today, the answer is ”yes.”

As a girl, I loved Wonder Woman.  Compare these two pictures.  Wonder Woman as I remember her: