Stupid Succop!

I am an ardent Pittsburgh fan. The only reason I don't follow pro basketball is because Pittsburgh doesn't have a team. Therefore, basketball doesn't' exist. Baseball-Pirates. Hockey-Penguins. Football-Steelers, baby! If you love Pittsburgh, you LOVE the Steelers. So, you can imagine how positively disgusted I was several weeks ago when a certain kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs named Ryan Succop, missed a chip shot field goal that would have put the Steelers in the playoffs.
"Stupid Succop!" It became my mantra as I watched other teams in the playoffs. I do not consider the part of me that is a sports fan to fall under the umbrella of my Christian witness. It's a separate entity. It has to be. How else could I live with myself? I am an entirely different person as a sports fan. I'm not making excuses. It's just the way it is.
Then came this year's Less-than-Super Bowl. I was impressed by the strength, speed, and size of the Seattle Seahawks; especially on defense. There appeared to be a notable disparity between them and the Broncos. Of course, I could point to the final score to support my best guess here, but I would say that Seattle was the superior team. Just saying'… If you play that game 10 times, Seattle wins 9. They appeared dominant and destined.
So, I was thinking that probably for this year, at least, the Steelers wouldn't have done much better than the Broncos against the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. As I was watching the waning moments of the game, I turned my friend, a Kansas City Chief's fan, and said, "Thank you Succop!" She understood exactly what I was saying.
That 'rear-view-mirror theology always shows a bigger picture, doesn't' it? Things happen that we don't understand. Then, one day, we get a revelation of a hand of protection or provision. Garth Brooks wrote a song with the lyric, "Sometimes, I thank God for unanswered prayers." I'm reminded by the Psalmist that God is faithful to the faithful; He does good things for those who do good." Thank you, God. Thank you Succop!