The following has been shared around this world regarding Tony Dungy,
the
head coach of the Indianapolis Colts...
As most of you know, before Tony became the head coach at Indianapolis,
he
was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and those of you who
live in
a professional team town, understand that every member from the owners
to
the players are under a microscope in the city's in which they live.
I lived in that atmosphere for 6.5 years. I had such huge respect for
Tony
AND the team members. Tony didn't recruit "stars"...he recruited great
players who had God filled hearts! I saw it up close and personal as
they
went about doing so many marvelous things in the Bay area in Florida!
The City itself expected a great deal from that franchise and they got
it
plus SO very much more. When he left town for the Colts and John Gruden
arrived...you could "feel" a difference in the demeanor he
protrayed...OH,
he was there for the "photo ops" when the team were taking toys and
spending
time with Children in the Childrens Hospital or building homes for those
indigent and so many other things, but John would quickly leave it for
the
"team" to handle...I had my eyes opened even wider as to the man Tony
Dungy
is! Below is the speech delivered last year at a breakfast held for the
NFL...***Connie M. Eller***
This has to be one really good Christian man, he shared his faith at
Superbowl XLI and this is Tony Dungy's Speech One Year Ago at a
breakfast
before last year's Superbowl.
"Spreading His Message"
They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York
Jets
running back Curtis Martin. And it was Martin who received the
Athletes in
Action Bart Starr Award Saturday morning.
But the hundreds who gathered in fourth-floor ballroom at the Marriott
Renaissance in Detroit, Mich., on the morning before Super Bowl XL were
clearly touched by the featured speaker. That speaker was Colts Head
Coach
Tony Dungy.
Two hours into the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who
was
welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd,
shared
an anecdote about Martin, then told the crowd he was going to speak for
about 15 minutes.
"It's great to be here," Dungy told the crowd, then adding with a laugh,
"I
just wish I wasn't here in this capacity so many times of being just
that
close to being in the game and just being an invited speaker. My goal
is to
have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our
guys
here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of
Christian guys. It'd be wonderful to have them here so you could see
their
hearts and what they're all about."
"It hasn't quite happened yet, but we're still hoping one day it will."
He
told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his
three
sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.
Although this was a breakfast - and although at many such events
speakers
speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested
listeners - for most of the 15 minutes the room was silent except for
Dungy's voice.
He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness
and
who is focused on sports "to where it's almost a problem."
He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital
condition
which causes him not to feel pain. "He feels things, but he doesn't
get
the sensation of pain," Dungy said. The lessons learned from Jordan,
Tony
Dungy said, are many. "That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but
I
promise you it's not," Dungy said. "We've learned a lot about pain in
the
last five years we've had Jordan. We've learned some hurts are really
necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the
difference
between what's good and what's harmful." Jordan, Dungy said, loves
cookies. "Cookies are good," Dungy said, "but in Jordan's mind, if
they're
good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right
in
the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take
the
pan out, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and
never
feel it. He doesn't know that's bad for him. Jordan," Dungy said, "has
no
fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him. The lesson
learned,"
Dungy said, "is simple. You get the question all the time, 'Why does
the
Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people?
If
God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to
happen?'"
Dungy said. "We've learned that a lot of times because of that pain,
that
little temporary pain, you learn what's harmful. You learn to fear the
right
things. Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to
be
healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not
quite
right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent
right to the spot. Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us
as
kids back to the Father."
Finally, he spoke of James. James Dungy, Tony Dungy's oldest son, died
three days before Christmas. As he did while delivering James' eulogy
in
December, Dungy on Saturday spoke of him eloquently and steadily,
speaking
of lessons learned and of the positives taken from experience. "It was
tough, and it was very, very painful, but as painful as it was, there
were
some good things that came out of it," Dungy said. Dungy spoke at the
funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time he saw him, on
Thanksgiving of last year. "I met a guy the next day after the
funeral,"
Dungy said. "He said, 'I was there. I heard you talking. I took off
work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the
movies.
We're going to spend some time and go to dinner.' That was a real, real
blessing to me." Dungy said that he has gotten many letters since
James'
death relaying similar messages. "People heard what I said and said,
'Hey,
you brought me a little closer to my son,' or, 'You brought me a little
closer to my daughter,'" Dungy said. "That is a tremendous blessing."
Dungy also said that some of James' organs were donated through donors
programs. "We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had
received
his corneas, and now they can see," Dungy said. "That's been a
tremendous
blessing." Dungy also said that he received a letter from a girl from
the
family's church in Tampa. She had known James for many years, Dungy
said.
She went to the funeral because she knew James. "When I saw what
happened
at the funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was
handled,
that was the first time I realized there had to be a God," Dungy said
the
girl wrote. "I accepted Christ into my life and my life's been different
since that day." Added Dungy, "That was an awesome blessing, so all of
those things kind of made me realize what God's love is all about."
Dungy also said he was asked often how he was able to return to the
Colts so
quickly after James' death. James died on December 22, and Dungy
returned
to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple. "People
asked me, 'How did you recover so quickly?"' Dungy said. "I'm not
totally
recovered. I don't know that I ever will be. It's still very, very
painful, but I was able to come back because of something one of my good
Christian friends said to me after the funeral. He said, 'You know James
accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he's in heaven, right?' I
said,
'Right, I know that.' He said, 'So, with all you know about heaven, if
you
had the power to bring him back now, would you?' When I thought about
it,
I said, 'No, I wouldn't. I would not want him back with what I know
about
heaven.' That's what helped me through the grieving process. Because
of
Christ's spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at
peace
with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something
that's
very, very painful. That's my prayer today, that everyone in this room
would know the same thing."
the
head coach of the Indianapolis Colts...
As most of you know, before Tony became the head coach at Indianapolis,
he
was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and those of you who
live in
a professional team town, understand that every member from the owners
to
the players are under a microscope in the city's in which they live.
I lived in that atmosphere for 6.5 years. I had such huge respect for
Tony
AND the team members. Tony didn't recruit "stars"...he recruited great
players who had God filled hearts! I saw it up close and personal as
they
went about doing so many marvelous things in the Bay area in Florida!
The City itself expected a great deal from that franchise and they got
it
plus SO very much more. When he left town for the Colts and John Gruden
arrived...you could "feel" a difference in the demeanor he
protrayed...OH,
he was there for the "photo ops" when the team were taking toys and
spending
time with Children in the Childrens Hospital or building homes for those
indigent and so many other things, but John would quickly leave it for
the
"team" to handle...I had my eyes opened even wider as to the man Tony
Dungy
is! Below is the speech delivered last year at a breakfast held for the
NFL...***Connie M. Eller***
This has to be one really good Christian man, he shared his faith at
Superbowl XLI and this is Tony Dungy's Speech One Year Ago at a
breakfast
before last year's Superbowl.
"Spreading His Message"
They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York
Jets
running back Curtis Martin. And it was Martin who received the
Athletes in
Action Bart Starr Award Saturday morning.
But the hundreds who gathered in fourth-floor ballroom at the Marriott
Renaissance in Detroit, Mich., on the morning before Super Bowl XL were
clearly touched by the featured speaker. That speaker was Colts Head
Coach
Tony Dungy.
Two hours into the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who
was
welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd,
shared
an anecdote about Martin, then told the crowd he was going to speak for
about 15 minutes.
"It's great to be here," Dungy told the crowd, then adding with a laugh,
"I
just wish I wasn't here in this capacity so many times of being just
that
close to being in the game and just being an invited speaker. My goal
is to
have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our
guys
here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of
Christian guys. It'd be wonderful to have them here so you could see
their
hearts and what they're all about."
"It hasn't quite happened yet, but we're still hoping one day it will."
He
told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his
three
sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.
Although this was a breakfast - and although at many such events
speakers
speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested
listeners - for most of the 15 minutes the room was silent except for
Dungy's voice.
He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness
and
who is focused on sports "to where it's almost a problem."
He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital
condition
which causes him not to feel pain. "He feels things, but he doesn't
get
the sensation of pain," Dungy said. The lessons learned from Jordan,
Tony
Dungy said, are many. "That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but
I
promise you it's not," Dungy said. "We've learned a lot about pain in
the
last five years we've had Jordan. We've learned some hurts are really
necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the
difference
between what's good and what's harmful." Jordan, Dungy said, loves
cookies. "Cookies are good," Dungy said, "but in Jordan's mind, if
they're
good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right
in
the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take
the
pan out, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and
never
feel it. He doesn't know that's bad for him. Jordan," Dungy said, "has
no
fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him. The lesson
learned,"
Dungy said, "is simple. You get the question all the time, 'Why does
the
Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people?
If
God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to
happen?'"
Dungy said. "We've learned that a lot of times because of that pain,
that
little temporary pain, you learn what's harmful. You learn to fear the
right
things. Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to
be
healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not
quite
right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent
right to the spot. Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us
as
kids back to the Father."
Finally, he spoke of James. James Dungy, Tony Dungy's oldest son, died
three days before Christmas. As he did while delivering James' eulogy
in
December, Dungy on Saturday spoke of him eloquently and steadily,
speaking
of lessons learned and of the positives taken from experience. "It was
tough, and it was very, very painful, but as painful as it was, there
were
some good things that came out of it," Dungy said. Dungy spoke at the
funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time he saw him, on
Thanksgiving of last year. "I met a guy the next day after the
funeral,"
Dungy said. "He said, 'I was there. I heard you talking. I took off
work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the
movies.
We're going to spend some time and go to dinner.' That was a real, real
blessing to me." Dungy said that he has gotten many letters since
James'
death relaying similar messages. "People heard what I said and said,
'Hey,
you brought me a little closer to my son,' or, 'You brought me a little
closer to my daughter,'" Dungy said. "That is a tremendous blessing."
Dungy also said that some of James' organs were donated through donors
programs. "We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had
received
his corneas, and now they can see," Dungy said. "That's been a
tremendous
blessing." Dungy also said that he received a letter from a girl from
the
family's church in Tampa. She had known James for many years, Dungy
said.
She went to the funeral because she knew James. "When I saw what
happened
at the funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was
handled,
that was the first time I realized there had to be a God," Dungy said
the
girl wrote. "I accepted Christ into my life and my life's been different
since that day." Added Dungy, "That was an awesome blessing, so all of
those things kind of made me realize what God's love is all about."
Dungy also said he was asked often how he was able to return to the
Colts so
quickly after James' death. James died on December 22, and Dungy
returned
to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple. "People
asked me, 'How did you recover so quickly?"' Dungy said. "I'm not
totally
recovered. I don't know that I ever will be. It's still very, very
painful, but I was able to come back because of something one of my good
Christian friends said to me after the funeral. He said, 'You know James
accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he's in heaven, right?' I
said,
'Right, I know that.' He said, 'So, with all you know about heaven, if
you
had the power to bring him back now, would you?' When I thought about
it,
I said, 'No, I wouldn't. I would not want him back with what I know
about
heaven.' That's what helped me through the grieving process. Because
of
Christ's spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at
peace
with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something
that's
very, very painful. That's my prayer today, that everyone in this room
would know the same thing."