Blake Bortles of the UCF Football Team

Living in Central Florida, we’ve been following UCF (University of Central Florida) football this year. It was an amazing season, with lots of school records:

• The Knights finished 7-0 on the road for the first time in school history and were rated as one of the top 10 football teams.
• First wins over Big Ten (Penn State) and Big 12 team (Baylor) teams.
• First Bowl Championship Series game.
• Youngest school (1963) and football program (1979) to ever play in a BCS game.
• Scored more points (52) than any other team facing Baylor this season
• Six wins were by five points or less.

Their amazing season and underdog win against Baylor (Apologies to those of you in Texas reading this!!) brought a lot of attention to a relatively new school and football program.

This remarkable season was capped with two of the UCF players declaring they will leave college for the NFL draft. Blake Bortles, the quarterback, is a local hometown hero, as he grew up almost within throwing distance of the Brighthouse Network Stadium (AKA the bounce house) where UFC plays football.

Based on the fun of watching the games and seeing the local kid make good, we wish Blake all good things in his quest for the NFL. The potential for fame, fun, and fortune must be irresistible to a young man barely in his twenties. Yet there have been too many young athletes who have gone down this path only to end in destruction by getting caught up in an artificial lifestyle.

We hope Blake is different and has his feet firmly on the ground. While we don’t have any indication that Blake has any religious inclinations, we pray he keeps his eyes on the eternal prize. Without some kind of faith to ground him, it will be easy for him to get lost in the hype and celebrity status. We also hope he is not counting on fame and fortune to make him happy, fulfilled or at peace. “We fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen only lasts for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Blake – you seem like a nice kid. Hopefully you are prepared for the whole NFL experience and you’ve received wise and Godly counsel in making a serious decision that will determine the future path of your life. Thanks for the season, Blake, we’ll miss you at the Bounce House!!