AC Green: A Champion in Christ

I met AC Green last night. I know he’s not a baseball player, but there’s not much going on in baseball, and this was a pretty amazing event.

In case you didn’t know, AC Green was a NBA player for 16 years. He is known as the NBA’s Iron Man, much like baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr. Green played in 1,192 straight games, plus practices. This guy was on the court constantly. Those 1,192 games played straight amounted to 15 years without missing a game. Now, that’s pretty amazing. He won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he was an NBA All-Star.

But probably the thing that he is most known for is his commitment to God and to purity. When he retired after 16 years in the NBA, he was able to say that he was still a virgin.

Anyways, he was speaking for a group that I am part of last night. He was a wonderful speaker. Well, first of all, you’ve got this 6-foot-9-inch guy up on the stage. And he went through his whole talk without notes. I’m sure he’s done it countless times, but still, it’s a great feat to be able to give an hour-long talk without notes. He was very funny. 

He was saying how he still loves to go to Lakers games. But what do you think he loves to watch the most? The offense? The defense? Nope. The vendors. He has to find the perfect seat to be in a good position to get a good vendor. He loves going out to the concession stands. Don’t you ever watch the game? “Oh, look…they’re getting tired. (giggleing) They’re sweating. I don’t have to be out there anymore, thank you Lord!” But if you think about it, that really makes sense. When you’re on the court, when you’re the player, you don’t get to just sit back and enjoy the game. You don’t get to go out and grab a hot dog or popcorn. With how long this guy played, it’s no wonder he loves the concession stands more than the action on the court!

But the most important thing to him, of course, is his faith. He wasn’t able to get through those 16 years and still be a virgin without God. It’s a great story. He encouraged us to keep the faith, through everything that’s going on in our lives. There are going to be a lot of hardships in the years ahead, but as long as we keep our faith in God, He will keep is strong.

Afterwards I went up and shook his hand. He’s a really funny guy. It was very cool to stand right in front of him, you know, he’s so tall! I also got a free copy of his book, Victory. Pre-autographed 🙂

It was a really neat night. If you want to learn more about AC Green, check out this website for all the info: http://www.acgreen.com/   

9 comments

  5. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Kaybee,
    That’s so cool that you got to meet AC Green! I honestly hadn’t heard about him before because I don’t follow basketball, but now I’m pretty up to date. That’s incredible that he was still a virgin after 16 years in the NBA. Talk about some serious faith. And I never thought that the players might enjoy watching what goes on during the game– besides the game.
    -Elizabeth
    http://redsoxgirl46.mlblogs.com

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  6. Kaybee

    BOB, AC played with the Lakers for a long time. He was involved in the whole rivary with the Celtics. I don’t think he really wants to be cheering for the Celtics. Like he said, “They’re the reigning champions…for a few more months.”

    JULIA, yes, exactly! He’s a great role model.

    XCICIX, yes, only by the grace of God was he able to do that!

    HYUN YOUNG, yes, faith is very important!

    ELIZABETH, I hadn’t heard of him either until a few weeks ago! But it’s a really great story. He’s a great role model!

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  7. welikeroywelikeroy

    I can remember some obscure Red Hot Chili Pepper lyrics int he 80’s that go:

    “(From Magic) To the hand of the man named A.C. Green. Slam so hard break your T.V. screen.
    I hate to burst your bubble
    But triple-double trouble …” (i forget the rest, just thought I share that)

    That is very cool you got to meet him and hear him speak. Green was one of my favorite parts of the ‘showtime Lakers.’ He sounds like a great guy.
    http://homerfoodandhistory.mlblogs.com/

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