The Real Deal

Chris is one of our elders at New Hope – he shared this incredible true story with me this morning…

“My Dad lives in Eugene Oregon. A couple nights ago, around 9:30pm, he got an unexpected knock at the door. It turns out that it was Tony Dungy’s sister – Coach Dungy and his wife were actually sitting in a car in Dad’s driveway with an elderly gentleman.

Coach, his wife, and his sister had flown in earlier that evening to the local airport. Around the same time, the older man – who was from the local area – had also flown in, but his family had neglected to pick him up. The man was a bit disoriented and scared and he wasn’t sure how to get home. The Dungy’s rented a car and took the guy out looking for his house. The man spotted my Dad’s house and said he thought that it was his house.  Obviously it wasn’t, but Dad actually recognized the man and was able to give the Dungy’s directions to get him home.

As luck would have it, one of Dad’s grandsons was spending the night and he just happens to be reading one of Coach Dungy’s books. It was quite a thrill for him to meet the family and get to talk to Tony Dungy. Dad said they got to spend quite a bit of time talking with them and he was quite impressed with the way Tony Dungy treated this older man who was lost.

I find it encouraging that Coach Dungy appears to be the kind of man the media represents him to be.  I wonder if I would have gone so far as to rent a car and try to help a lost old man find his way home? Would any of us?”

I’m a Tony Dungy fan – I grieved losing him as the coach of my beloved Colts much more than I did the loss of that one guy who was QB for awhile – What’s his name? – oh well, doesn’t matter… I have been led to understand that Coach Dungy is a kind, compassionate man of genuine integrity and great faith. How refreshing to be reminded of that – and how, in some strange way, proud it makes me feel.

In a world where celebrities, leaders, and famous people regularly “get caught” in moral shortcomings that reveal deep character flaws, it is gratifying to get some confirmation that a few of them are the real deal.

We miss you Coach!