My husband, Coach John Shoop, has been writing for Chapelboro.com this fall about Triangle area college football. The articles have generally been a coach’s perspective on things like game preparation, offensive philosophies, and related topics. This week his final column is worth reading for anyone–even people who don’t care about football. It’s about diverse community and mutual relationships–it’s about giving thanks. I hope you’ll take a look.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” ~1 John 1:8 Living a lie is a well-worn habit for human kind. We human beings tend to avoid hard truths especially when they might mean we have to change. The tenacity of our denial tends to increase the more there is to lose. I will confess my own shortcoming in the face of all of this football mess here at UNC—anger. There have been several angry moments during this situation for me. Many have told me that my anger is justified. … Read the full post
This Thanksgiving, as every Thanksgiving we’ve spent at UNC, we were blessed to have some of the players at our Thanksgiving table. Devon Ramsay is one of them. If you don’t know Devon’s story and you are a Tar Heel fan or any fan of college football, you should. He is a fine young man—someone to be proud of, someone to root for, and someone for whom UNC should be thankful. For John and me, Devon is someone who inspires us with his resiliency, his perseverance, and his desire to keep working toward his dreams. And for John and… Read the full post
Warning: If you are a white person, this post may contain material that is hazardous to your worldview. Please proceed prayerfully, not fearfully. The embarrassment I have felt during UNC’s NCAA investigation hit its peak last fall when accusations of academic fraud started coming out. The offense of cheating has always hit a nerve with me, but the prospect that people cheated was not what left me the most horrified. I have been a part of several stellar academic communities in my life—from the college campus I grew up on, Centre College, to Oxford University to Vanderbilt and Emory and… Read the full post
