Spirit for Spirit?

One of the things I LOVE about Benton Panther football is the fact that the players don't have their names on the back of their jerseys. There is a sense that when you play for this school, you are part of something far bigger than you. We are a team. We are family. What a year this has proven to be?

As I posted my thoughts earlier this week, I've had a bit of a heavy heart.  Bear with me and try to understand. Please don't text me or send me an email....Because these are my feelings and I'm tired and grumpy!  haha
 

Sydney Clare and the Pepsteppers leave on Friday to compete in their State Competition.  The real deal....where the winner gets "bling" and everything.  Speaking of....the Juniors and Seniors are sporting a Championship ring from last year, meaning they are defending their title this year.

I have both a football player and a Pepstepper.  The facts are these.  Sydney started dance at age 3.  Competing at age 6/7, and has been a member of the school dance team since the 8th grade.  These girls work harder than you can ever imagine.  There is no "off season".  They have 8-hour practices throughout the summer.  They prepare for camp, then football, then basketball, then back around to tryout season.  All the while attending competitions.  Their duties include pep ralleys, support for the various Panther teams, all while trying to perfect their routines.  (Band and Cheer have the same rigorous schedules...I just happen to know of dance firsthand.)  The financial, emotional, and physical demands to be a successful member of this squad is unbelievable.

Don't misunderstand, My football Panther works his hiney off.  But he has one focus.  One job.  One goal. My Pepstepper?  Has daily practices after school, has to prepare for her football buddy, make posters, decorate this and that, go to the game to cheer, perform at halftime, and THEN gets to focus on her role in the performance for competitions.  See my point?  Some of these girls are even cut from dances due to injury or other factors which may deem them not prepared to compete.  Still, they are there....day after day...learning the dances, perfecting the dances...."just in case."

Yes, that is the purpose.  Yes, that is part of it.  I'm not arguing that fact.  What weighs my heart down, is WHO is supporting them?  WHO will cheer THEM to victory?  For you see, they have been winners for quite some time.  The band is top notch, Cheer has a history of NATIONAL championships, and until Saturday, this team is deemed best in the state. Benton Panther spirit groups are among the best....the elite.  They are awesome.

Sydney came home the last couple of weeks telling me how upset some of the girls were because other students....some football players....had been saying, for lack of better words....that "Pepsteppers Suck"....hmmmm. Really?  Yes, they did receive 2nd place in a category or 2 over the past few competitions leading up to state....but 2nd place FAR from makes them losers.  It afforded them the opportunity to work hard and perfect.  Something they no doubt plan to do on Saturday.  

Her dance coach is a Godly woman, who first prays relentlessly for these girls...on and off the field.  She offers them the tools to be the best.  She takes time from her own family to work with them and has them prepared to be the very best that they can be. She loses sleep in worry and frets as if it were her own children.  Because they are.  God has blessed our town, our school, and personally, my life and that of my kids for placing such wonderful leaders to guide them.

Yep, I'm a bit partial.  But people just don't understand just how hard our spirit teams work.  And how thin they are spread.  Pray for them friends.  These are a talented group of girls who exhibit Panther pride no matter how the football team is doing.  It's quite easy during this dream season, of course. :)  But they are also there when the chips were down.  Its time for our "FAMILY" to stand tall for them, too.

As a mom, I have the opportunity to save my pennies for not one...but TWO....state championship rings this year.  Blessed, I am.

No one player is more important than the team. It takes commitment, sacrifice, and a relentless pursuit of excellence from every single person in the locker room-from the managers to the players to the head coach, from the athletic trainers to the quarterback. From the captain, to the first year sophomore, to the managers. From the Pepsteppers...to the Band....to the Cheerleaders....to the Fans. We are Family.

The same is true for those who are followers of Christ Jesus. No individual believer is more important than the rest of the "team." We are part of a team that has been built on the shoulders of great men and women who sacrificed their very lives for the sake of the gospel-that Jesus indeed rose from the dead. The disciples were beheaded, stoned to death, and crucified for their faith. The body of Christ is most effective and influential when we are pulling in the same direction and more concerned with God's glory rather than our own.

This, my friends....is the Benton Panthers.
Pine Bluff...Alma...Jacksonville....  These are about to be the sites of something special.  My prayer is for standing room only, wearing maroon and gray....to witness it.  Sure do wish I could take my cowbell.  :)

Go Panthers.

"Now may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you agreement with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice." - Romans 15:5-6


Blessings In Him,
Terri