Super servant
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the other. -Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Number LIV. That's 54, and it makes me wonder how long we're going to keep using Roman numerals to tag these things! Growing up in Dallas, Texas, I don't have a horse in this race, though I am partial to the Chiefs, at least partly because they were once the Dallas Texans. That said, I came across a story from this San Francisco 49ers team that struck a chord with me.
Ahkello Witherspoon was selected by the 49ers in Round 3 of the 2017 NFL draft, out of the University of Colorado, to play cornerback. He made the team and worked his way up the depth chart in his rookie year, then became the full-time starter in 2018 before hurting his knee and going on injured reserve in December. He came back as the starter in 2019, but missed several games in October and November with a foot sprain.
That opened the door for Emmanuel Moseley, an undrafted free agent from the University of Tennessee who joined the team in 2018. He and Witherspoon had competed in practice, a friendly rivalry where each player pushed the other to be better. When Witherspoon went down with his foot injury, Moseley was able to step in and fill the gap. When Witherspoon returned to the field in December, he and Moseley split time in the 49ers defensive backfield.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. -Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV)
Obviously, San Francisco has had a great season, due in no small part to the dominance of their defense. As they prepared for their divisional round playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, the coaches named Witherspoon the starter. His injury was completely healed, and with a few late-season contests to shake the rust off and get back into game shape, they trusted his experience. But Witherspoon struggled early and ended up playing only 13 defensive snaps. In less than ten minutes, he picked up a pass interference penalty, then gave up the Vikings' longest play of the day, a 41-yard touchdown pass.
His coach had seen enough: Witherspoon out, Moseley in. In an era of "me-first" athletes, many players would have pouted, complained, or just hidden out at the end of the bench for the remainder of the game. Ahkello Witherspoon took a different approach. He sought out his special teams coach and volunteered to take Emmanuel Moseley's snaps on the punt and kick-off coverage units. "Make sure you give me all E-man’s reps, everything he has on special teams. I want to do whatever I can to help. He needs his energy, you put me in on special teams." His reasoning was to do the dirty work, so Moseley would be rested and ready to go on defense.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/49ers-ahkello-witherspoon-explains-why-he-asked-play-special-teams
Man, I like that. That's an attitude that makes champions, regardless of the score in Sunday's match-up. It's an attitude that extends beyond the football field. We've talked about it in this space before: Are you building your castle or are you building a kingdom?
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. -Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)