If someone were to make a movie just for me...
If someone were to make a movie just for me it would probably have to capture both of my passions which have made me who I am today, namely, social justice and rugby....
For those of you do not know, I played Rugby in college for four years. Of the many sports in which I have competed throughout my life (baseball, football, wrestling, shot-put/discuss, and Rugby), there is a special place in my heart for Rugby. Its untainted form in the U.S. (because it's just not popular enough to be marketed) is like that of none other. It's raw, it's tough, it's from the heart, and it's about pouring yourself out for the guys next to you. It might be the greatest sport in the world (although on any given day I might say the same about wrestling).
Also, for those of you who do not know, Nelson Mandela is a hero of mine. Mandela once said, "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." This captures, I believe, the kind of freedom Paul was talking about when he said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Mandela fought for freedom, he fought for equality, and he empowered a nation to find healing.
Well, Clint Eastwood has brought these two passions of mine together in a movie. The movie Invictus comes out on December 11th. It tells the story of how Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (played by Mat Damon) to help bring healing to their country and to reconcile the racial prejudice that had developed over so many years. It's just my kind of movie--even ironically so. I had to laugh a little when I heard about it just because it's so right up my alley. It's like Hotel Rwanda meets Rudy.
For those of you do not know, I played Rugby in college for four years. Of the many sports in which I have competed throughout my life (baseball, football, wrestling, shot-put/discuss, and Rugby), there is a special place in my heart for Rugby. Its untainted form in the U.S. (because it's just not popular enough to be marketed) is like that of none other. It's raw, it's tough, it's from the heart, and it's about pouring yourself out for the guys next to you. It might be the greatest sport in the world (although on any given day I might say the same about wrestling).
Also, for those of you who do not know, Nelson Mandela is a hero of mine. Mandela once said, "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." This captures, I believe, the kind of freedom Paul was talking about when he said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Mandela fought for freedom, he fought for equality, and he empowered a nation to find healing.
Well, Clint Eastwood has brought these two passions of mine together in a movie. The movie Invictus comes out on December 11th. It tells the story of how Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar (played by Mat Damon) to help bring healing to their country and to reconcile the racial prejudice that had developed over so many years. It's just my kind of movie--even ironically so. I had to laugh a little when I heard about it just because it's so right up my alley. It's like Hotel Rwanda meets Rudy.
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