(from the August 2003 issue)

by Melody Jagitsch

On March 1, the Broadview Academy Lady Bulldogs won the Southwestern Adventist University basketball tournament. I'm ridiculously proud of them, but not because they won. Oh, of course I'm happy they won. But, you see I knew they were champions long before the judges handed them the trophy.

I knew they were champions before the games began when the girls came to me for help in planning morning worships for the weekend. I knew they were champions in the first game when a girl on the opposing team fell and one of my girls reached out to help her up. I knew they were champions when I overheard them deciding to stay at the gym to cheer for the other teams, even if it meant giving up precious sleep "because everyone needs cheering."

I decided they were winners when both our ladies' and our men's teams embraced the teams from Central Vermont Academy (CVA) as though they were long-lost brothers and sisters. Knowing that they had never met before, I asked my guys and girls why they liked the students from CVA so much. "Oh, Mrs. J.," they enthused, "you should get to know them! They are so polite and so nice! They are real Christians!" And I smiled at my champions, who look for friends that act like Jesus instead of just looking at their outward appearance.

Our men's team didn't place as well as the ladies' team did, but I knew they were champions when they shook off their sadness and started pulling for the men's team from Central Vermont. And when CVA won the men's tournament, I knew my guys were the real winners when they rushed the court in sheer joy to jump and laugh and whistle with the CVA men's team. I knew they had won when they organized themselves into a cheerleading team for the Lady Bulldogs, leading the crowd in cheers and yells. I knew who the winners were when my guys stood with shining eyes and big grins to watch the men's trophy handed to someone else, and then filled the air with joyous shouts of congratulations.

And for me, the real awards ceremony came before the championship game even started. The real awards ceremony happened as I sat in Sabbath evening vespers. "Have you met anyone from Broadview Academy yet?" I heard a girl whisper to another behind me. "No, why?" asked another girl. My ears sharpened for the reply. "Because they are all just wonderful! They are so kind, they always help you, and they act like they really love everybody! I just love them!" she exclaimed.

So yes, I'm proud of Broadview Academy's basketball teams. The first place trophy looks awfully good in the case standing by the front door. But every time I see it, I know its shining beauty pales in comparison to the heavenly glory those students are preparing themselves for.