Analogy
A soloist in a leading ballet company may avoid any and all reference to her failures because the culture around her rewards only…
Identity · Grace · Mission
Buzzard
Story
The Player Who Dropped His Pants
Baseball anecdote involving Steve Lyons, July 16, 1990
Steve Lyons played for the Chicago White Sox and was known as a hustling, versatile infielder. On July 16, 1990, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, he bunted and dove headfirst into first base. Safe. An argument broke out between the pitcher and the umpire. Lyons, still full of adrenaline and dirt, felt grit sliding down inside his uniform. Without thinking, he dropped his pants right there on the field to shake it out. Twenty thousand people saw it. Within a day he was the punchline of every sports show. Women in the stands waved dollar bills. Columnists competed for the best joke. Lyons later said the moment would define him more than any of his actual baseball accomplishments. Most of us will never drop our pants in a major-league stadium. But many of us know the fear of being permanently labeled by one public failure. The story is funny until it becomes personal.
How you’d preach it
A light, memorable story that can open a door to conversations about reputation, the one moment that defines us, or the grace of not being remembered only for our worst public failure.
- Grace
- Identity