I think, therefore I am not a War Eagle

French Philosopher, Rene Descartes (1596-1650), reasoned that the certainty of his existence could be derived from the proposition, “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes believed that possession of the power to think confirmed his existence. Were we divested of the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, we could not interact with the world around us, but we could still think and we could doubt, thereby confirming our mortal existence. 

At the core of my existence as a college football fan, I can truly say, “I think therefore I am…not an Auburn War Eagle.”  I once told my Sunday school class that the worst thing that could happen to me would be to die, be buried wearing an Auburn T-shirt and couldn’t remove it.

I am a rabid University of Georgia football fan. My brother, Dwayne, attended there on a basketball scholarship and both my sons, Bill and Tim, graduated from Georgia.  So I am a ‘dyed in the wool’ bulldog, who bleeds red and black. There are a number of teams that Dawg fans hate. Among them are archrivals Auburn, Georgia Tech, Florida and Tennessee. 

I respect, however, any team that plays in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC is noted for its ‘smash mouth’ football. It is the toughest league in the nation, so tough that Georgia Tech and Florida State University declined invitations to join. They had rather play Atlantic Coast Conference patsies every Saturday than SEC opponents.  

Once I stayed on an emotional roller coaster dependent upon whether Georgia won or lost on Saturday, but had to give that up as our football fortunes quickly retreated after the Camelot days of Vince Dooley and Herschel Walker. However, Beverly and I remained loyal fans and loved the atmosphere of college football and were rewarded with two additional national championships in 2021 and 2022. We enjoyed picnic tailgating with family and friends, watching a game with 90,000 plus cheering fans, shopping at the UGA bookstore and listening to the play-by-play by the incomparable Larry Munson.  Then there is the long ride back home made more pleasurable listening to the Fifth Quarter Show as fans call in to rehash the game with the coaching staff. An angel overheard a man say he hoped there was college football in heaven.  The angel answered him, “The good news is they do have college football up there, but the bad news is you’re the starting quarterback next Saturday!”

The “I am” phase of Descartes proposition denotes the essence of being. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He instructed Moses to approach Pharaoh demanding release of the Hebrew slaves.  Moses asked God whom could he say sent him.    God replied, “I am that I am.” God is the great I am. He has no beginning and no end.  Neither is He bounded by space and time. A supernova exploding in outer space whose light takes millions of years to reach earth is a mere blip on His panoramic view of the past, present and future. 

Jesus used the phrase “I am” to define His ministry. He said, “I am the bread of life.  He who believes in me will never hunger or thirsty” and “I am the light of the world. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” In raising Lazarus, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will never die.” Jesus stressed that He is the only mediator between God and man: “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man goes to the father except by me.”