King's Basketball Coach Inspires NY Giants
NEW YORK– It’s Dec. 23. It’s a week after their worst loss ever. And it doesn’t look like the Giants are going to make it to the Superbowl this year. Then suddenly, everything changes. On Christmas Eve, the Giants struck down the Jets 29-14 and leapt into the running for a shot at the 2012 Superbowl. Dec. 23 is an important date because it was the day TKC Basketball Coach Gian Paul Gonzalez addressed the Giants to go “all in."
“My message was basically all in," 28-year-old Gonzalez said in an interview with Fox and Friends last Wednesday morning at 6:50 a.m. “God has blessed us with a lot of opportunities, family, work, in different situations and relationships, and a lot of times, as men it is easy to stay uncommitted. It is easy just to stay on the sidelines and say, ‘Well, I wasn’t trying anyway.'"
In the spirit of Christmas, Gonzalez shared with the Giants how Joseph showed Mary commitment during the birth of Jesus. Joseph was committed and “all in."
“I see sports as a tool, as almost a bridge, to be able to reach youth,” Gonzalez said. In 2007, Gonzalez started the 4-One ministry, an organization that uses basketball to share the gospel of Jesus. Gonzalez also ministered to kids in Juvenile Hall Detention Centers.
“The message was similar," Gonzalez said. "You are here at this place for a time, but then, when you come out, you have an opportunity to change your life. You have an opportunity to be different, to have a future and to be all invested in that as well.”
Gonzalez handed out poker chips to the Giants, symbolically giving them the chance to risk everything.
“I see it there, and it’s a reminder I’m fully committed to the task at hand,” Giants Wide Receiver Victor Cruz said in a Jan. 13 New York Post article.
"Everybody’s all in; mind, body and soul,” Giants Linebacker Michael Boley said, according to the same article.
The Giants beat the Packers 37-20 on Jan. 15, moving them into the National Football Conference Championships and one step closer to the Superbowl.