Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Frank Reich shared that the "strength" that allowed him to lead his team into its National Football League victory on Sunday is actually found "In Christ Alone."
Reich said that he would like to give a personal testimony on the source of his strength in life during the Postgame Press Conference held last November 22 at the Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The press conference was done after the Indianapolis Colts won 41-15 over the Buffalo Bills.
Reich raised that he never does this often and pointed out that there are people who know how his team uses the metaphor of "climbing Mount Everest as a parallel quest in getting to the top." He said mountains represent the many trials all people face in life.
"I don't do this often, but I just wanted to start out by saying something personal. Like I said, in four years I think I've only done this one other time. Some people know that our team has been using the metaphor of climbing Mount Everest to parallel our quest to make it to the top. It doesn't take long to figure out that this metaphor doesn't merely apply to football. Rather, it can be a picture of the many challenges that we all face. We all face mountains that we're trying to climb," Reich began in his speech.
A 44-year sports veteran who hails from New York's Freeport, Reich went on to give a "word of encouragement" to those who are currently struggling to climb their own mountains by citing his own experience. He shared a personal testimony and revealed his source of strength in his own journey, quoting the song "In Christ Alone."
"So, I just wanted to offer a word of encouragement really, to anyone out there who's in the midst of a struggle. In particular, I'm thinking of a few friends who I know are going through some stuff. I want to give a personal account to where I found my strength for the journey," Reich said.
"The reason I'm doing that here and now is because, almost 30 years ago, after a really big game right down the hall, in a press conference, I shared the lyrics to a song that meant a lot to me. It really spoke to where I get my strength from. The song's "In Christ Alone" and it's written by Shawn Craig. I'm not going to recite the whole song like I did in the locker room back in 1993, but I do just want to share a very small snippet of it. It might encourage someone who's climbing their own mountain right now," he disclosed.
Reich then read the words of the song's chorus and revealed that his favorite line is "I seek no greater honor than just to know Him more," before citing Hebrews 13:8 which he said reminded him of what took place there three decades ago. The Bible verse says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
The Christian Headlines elaborated that Reich quoted from the same song "In Christ Alone" thirty years ago during the press conference for a game he played for Buffalo Bills as quarterback. That 1993 game was most historic for the Bills won over the Houston Texans in a comeback victory of 41-38 after a 35-3 trailing, making it NFL history's largest comeback win.
In ending his personal testimony before giving the technicalities and reports on his team, Reich highlighted the similarities of what happened in that same place thirty years ago and today. He then encouraged those climbing their mountains to keep doing so by banking on God for their strength.
"It's crazy, but we're here some 30 years later not living in the past but rather attempting to press on to what is ahead. So, my encouragement is to keep climbing and to find the strength and power that you need in Jesus Christ," Reich concluded.
USA Today raised that this was the first time Reich gave a very emotional speech as he was renowned in the course of his four seasons as the Indianapolis Colts Head Coach being "even-keeled regardless of the situation." But winning the game clearly showed that it was really important to him and his team "in proving their worth to the League."
