“Everybody wants to be a Baylor Bear today!” Robert Griffin’s assessment of McLane Stadium’s opening was accurate, concise and simply astonishing to any long-time Baylor fan.
Gordon WilkersonCould Hollywood have written a better script to closing to Floyd Casey Stadium or opening Baylor’s new venue? I watched the events of the stadium inauguration with a combination of pride and incredulity: Admire the McLane family. Proud for Baylor, Waco and Central Texas. Proud of Coach Briles and the Bears. Can you believe this is really happening in Waco?
Fast-forward one day. My wife, Lori, has been on a campaign to introduce our youngest daughter to great films—a task more difficult than it should be. Selection for Labor Day weekend was 1980’s Chariots of Fire, the story of two members of Great Britain’s 1924 Olympic track and field team. Great movie. Clean movie. Director Hugh Hudson admits he inserted one expletive to obtain a PG rating, thus appealing to a wider audience.
The film’s hero, Scotsman Eric Liddell, maintains a steadfast Christian faith that precludes him from competing on Sunday. He withdraws from the 100-meter dash, an event he is favored to win. Enters the 400 meters, where he is an underdog. Receives a note just before the race from an American team member quoting 1 Samuel 2:30: “Those who honor me, I will honor.” Watch the film.
No TV on Sundays
Liddell’s Sabbath-keeping brought to mind visits to my grandparents’ home in Houston, circa 1972. Mama C was a Southern Baptist Miss Daisy, right down to the gas-fired kitchen stove. We were free to do almost anything in her home, but we were not allowed to watch television on Sunday. On Sundays, we were at South Main Baptist Church.
I remember Sunday, Dec. 31, 1972, like it was yesterday. We attended services and were taken to lunch at Jetton’s, a cafeteria that was itself a world of wonder to a 12-year-old from West Texas. Even better, it was the first restaurant I patronized that had a television in the dining area. The Miami Dolphins were taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium in the AFC Championship. I didn’t eat much, but I watched every down, contemplating whether the Dolphins would continue their perfect season or the Steelers could come up with a play to top the previous week’s Immaculate Reception. I was devastated when we had to leave with less than two minutes remaining and the outcome still in the balance.
Moments later, I entered the house and headed straight for the television. Surely, this once, an exception could be made. Only for a few minutes. … It was not to be. Mother cut us off at the pass. “We respect the rules, boys. No TV on Sundays.”
Pushing the envelope
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In an act I’ve long considered largely merciful and mildly defiant, our grandfather quietly brought my brother and me into his study. He would not break the rules, but he pushed the envelope as far as possible when he pulled a transistor radio from his desk and tuned in for the waning seconds of the contest.
Was McLane Stadium’s opening on the Sunday night before Labor Day a great moment for Baylor? Most certainly. Unable to attend in person, I watched the whole event. When you’ve been a fan through the Bill Beall era and the Reedy, Roberts, Steele, Morriss wanderings in the wilderness, you develop a profound respect for Grant Teaff and Art Briles. Here’s hoping the program’s best days lie ahead.
The stadium opening was spectacular. When I attended, Baylor marketed itself as the world’s largest Baptist university. It now describes itself as a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution. Anyone who would object to Baylor allowing the television powers that be to schedule such a landmark event for a Sunday evening is an anachronism incapable of comprehending what drives modern society. Our culture is no respecter of the Sabbath.
I’m no Eric Liddell and feel hypocritical even putting these thoughts to paper. I’m grateful my wife wants our children to know Liddell’s story. And I’m developing a long overdue appreciation for Mama C.
Gordon Wilkerson, a Baylor University alumnus, is a layman and a member of First Baptist Church in Lubbock.
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