{"id":8647,"date":"2012-11-05T10:37:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T10:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.familylife.com\/flministries\/?p=8647"},"modified":"2012-11-05T10:37:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-05T10:37:00","slug":"the-final-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/marriage\/archived-content\/marriage-memo\/the-final-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"The Final Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

And so it comes to this: Two men finally facing off in a winner-take-all contest.<\/p>\n

Both men are successful and accomplished, yet both have walked through the valley of defeat.\u00a0 Both live with the fact that fame and job security is fleeting.<\/p>\n

Both men are supported by millions and both are ridiculed and condemned when they don\u2019t perform well.\u00a0 They are accustomed to living in the public eye, and know how it feels to have their words and decisions picked apart by the media.<\/p>\n

And just to be clear, I\u2019m not talking about this week\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m talking about this week\u2019s contest between Georgia football coach Mark Richt and Auburn coach Gene Chizik, whose teams face off this coming Saturday.<\/p>\n

And while the outcome for the presidential race remains unclear, Auburn fans have little hope of knocking off Georgia this year. Georgia is 8-1 and ranked fifth in the country, while Auburn\u2014which won the national championship just two seasons ago\u2014is 2-7 and suffering through its worst season in many years.<\/p>\n

Recently I read books about both coaches and was impressed with how similar the two men are in their commitment to their Christian faith, to their families, and also in their desire to mentor the young men they coach.\u00a0 In All In<\/em>, an autobiography by Chizik, I was struck by the unique pressures and difficulties faced by college football coaches.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine trying to keep a marriage and family strong in those circumstances.\u00a0 Chizik writes:<\/p>\n

I love my job.\u00a0 But I also love my family, and unfortunately one of the downsides of coaching at this level is the amount of family time you have to give up.\u00a0 Between recruiting, off-season practices, the regular season, and\u2014if things go well\u2014bowl games, we are basically on the go year-round.\u00a0 Most days I\u2019m at the office early and I don\u2019t get home until late\u2014I usually put in a sixteen- or seventeen-hour day.\u00a0 From August 1 until the first Wednesday of February (National Signing Day), we pretty much run nonstop\u2014no days off, no holidays, no breaks \u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n

With this schedule, Chizik writes, his wife Jonna is \u201cpretty much a single parent six to seven months a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just the schedule.\u00a0 How would you like to live in a glass bowl where people love or hate you depending on whether your team wins?\u00a0 How would you like to see your husband picked apart weekly in the media?<\/p>\n

To survive in this world, you need a true partnership in marriage. And it\u2019s clear that Chizik and Richt have been blessed with wives who are committed to building a marriage and family that honors God.<\/p>\n

Both couples are outspoken about their dependence on God for guidance and strength.\u00a0 When asked in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes video<\/a> about how he and his wife Katharyn keep their marriage together, Richt said, \u201cIf we both pursue God, we\u2019re gonna get closer together \u2026 as humans we\u2019re never going to always agree on everything or always been in perfect relationship to each other at all times, but if there is a conflict or there is something wrong \u2026 we always turn to the Lord.\u00a0 If I\u2019m trying to fix my relationship with God and she\u2019s trying to do the same thing, we end up pretty close together.\u201d<\/p>\n

I also was impressed by the commitment these couples have for mentoring the young men who come through their football programs.\u00a0 \u201cThe longer I coach the more I realize the great responsibility we have for the young men God has put us in authority over,\u201d Richt says.\u00a0 Both football programs offer everything from educational tutoring to character classes to training in how to speak with the media.\u00a0 Players are given opportunities to attend Bible studies and devotions.\u00a0 And, since many of the players come from troubled family backgrounds, both programs boast a strong emphasis on family. \u00a0Players often see the wives and children of coaches at practices and team functions.\u00a0 Chizik writes:<\/p>\n

We want our players to become good fathers and husbands, but what good would it do if we stood up in team meetings and emphasized the importance of marriage and fatherhood but didn\u2019t give them concrete examples of how a good father and husband looks, talks, and acts?\u00a0 My marriage isn\u2019t perfect\u2014it can\u2019t be because I\u2019m a part of it!\u2014but it is a loving, biblically centered marriage.\u00a0 Jonna is around our team enough that she should probably demand to be on the payroll, which means the players can see how she and I communicate and get along with each other in our marriage.<\/em><\/p>\n

This may be the final showdown between Richt and Chizik; Auburn\u2019s poor record has led many Auburn boosters to demand that Chizik be replaced after this season concludes.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to imagine\u2014just 21 months ago he was on the top of the world\u2014kissing Jonna on national television after Auburn won the national championship.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s the crazy world of a college football coach and his family.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 2012 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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