Colt McCoy
I recently had a chance to hear Colt McCoy speak at an FCA fundraiser in Bowling Green, KY. One of the funnier moments was during the Q&A session when a local high school athlete asked Colt, “What advice would you have for an aspiring high school quarterback?” Colt’s response—“Throw to your best receiver.”
You probably know his story: Colt’s dream was to not just play in the NFL, but to win a BCS National Championship. In 2010, his dream was almost realized as he faced off against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Five plays into the game he gets hurt and was forced to watch the second half from the sidelines where he humbly cheered on his teammates.
After his team was defeated that night, Colt was asked by a reporter, “What are you feeling right now?” The Texas quarterback boldly looks into the camera on National TV and says, “I’ll never question what happened; the Lord is my rock.” Before the banquet I attended in Kentucky, I shook Colt McCoy’s hand and thanked him for his testimony–I told him that I will look forward to the day where I get to share his story with my son. You know it’s pretty common for athletes and coaches to thank the Lord after they hoist the trophy—while the confetti drops at their feet. Many times, I have thought that I would never see the day where an athlete acknowledged his relationship with the Lord in the midst of defeat and trial. After all, isn’t God still good even when we lose?
Thankfully, in maybe one of the lowest moments of his life, Colt McCoy suggested to millions of television viewers that our best moments and even our worst moments remind us that there is something more. At the end of the Q&A session I mentioned earlier, someone asked, “Do you ever feel like people or the media try to get you to keep your Faith separate from your football career?” Colt’s response: “That’s impossible—you can’t separate it–it all goes together. Football is just what I do—it’s not who I am. I can’t possibly change who I am from one moment to the next.”
I’m not big on autographs but I asked Colt to sign my ticket from the event. Below his name, he carefully inscribed his favorite Bible verse—Colossians 3:23—a good one for any young athlete to think about…or old one.
Good reminder that God is good in the hard times too.