Oakland Raiders: Miracle on Fourth Street, a Christmas Story

Friendships Through Thick and Thin

Forty-seven years ago, a young, handsome man said "Hello" to a slim, strutting young lady in the hallway of the Nabrit Science building on a university campus in the Southwest part of the United States. 

A friendship started and it has lasted through thick and thin, gaps and breaks, in the lives of both people. The Bleacher Report names for these two people are JCI and Damali. Although the length of these two people's journey spans 47 years, there were gaps in their communication, one of which lasted for 26 years.

JCI became a professional football player. He played for the Oakland Raiders.

Damali became the mathematics professor and writer. Both have reached goals that are to be respected, since all of us get transformed for the better, especially as we mature. A third component of this circle of friends and colleagues is Damali's brother, Rev. Edsel Warren Brannon, Jr. He, too, has been through transformative experiences.

The Beginning, the Idea

One day the man, JCI said to Damali, "You with your big head, and you are suppose to be so smart, and me, with my big head and NFL data that got the attention of so many people...let's put our heads together..."

His comment suggested that something needed to be corrected, resolved, and made clear by a gleam of dawn from the heavens. The truth is that light which shines on all situations and let's us "see" clearly and correct errors, misconceptions, or distorted perceptions which plague the lives of so many celebrities in sports and other professions.

Those words are profound because JCI was affirming that the gifts that the professor and the professional athlete have, together, can spell out a story of a miracle on Fourth Street on Christmas Day, 2009.

How did they meet again on Dec. 23, 2009? Well, it is an intriguing story that is developing into a saga. The recent chapters are reported in this article.

An Intriguing Encounter

It was Dec. 22, and Damali was working on her laptop. It started to crash, but one picture was frozen on the desktop. It was a picture of JCI, and nothing else showed on the screen. Control, alt, and delete were pressed, but nothing happened. Finally, Damali felt that something was going on in another domain or realm. She shut off the computer and began to think, "Why was the picture of JCI the only one on the screen when there were so many icons on her desktop?"

Next, Damali went to a website for a national mathematics conference that was to be held in San Francisco. As she looked at various links, she stumbled on one tagged, "In Memorial." At the top of the page was the name of a professor from an academy who was to facilitate her session on Sports and Mathematics, planned for Jan. 16, 2010. This great professor passed away on Nov. 23, 2009, and Damali was totally surprised. The professor helped Damali get an article published on the Oakland Raiders who played many years ago.  

Her topic for the planned presentation is on "Intensity and integrity on the playing field." The NFL data of JCI and other senior players is to be analyzed using various mathematical techniques so as to reveal and shed light on the power and impact of the senior Oakland Raiders contributions on the playing field.

Now there are four contacts who were giving various levels of advice to Damali as she worked on her project to become a sports writer, and each of these men has passed away since Feb. 2007.

Her brother, Rev. Edsel, said to her, "God wants you to depend on him alone as you do this project on the senior NFL players."

The Transformations, the Departures

One of the sports historians who passed away was Bob Carroll who had a significant role in the development of the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA). He helped Damali, by serving as her editor, when she wrote an article, "The Gleam of Dawn."

The article reported on the life and transformative stages of a great wide receiver who now has been "redeemed by his belief in the One whose birth we celebrate today, on Christmas."

Carroll had encouraged Damali to expand the design of her book project and asked that she start an article in September, 2009, recording the history of many players from the Golden Triangle, in Texas.

One day, Damali was reading her PFRA newsletter, and was shocked to find out that Bob Carroll passed away in his sleep in Fall 2009. This made Damali reflect on her interview with a retired coach named, Coach Black.

On a Thursday in 2009, Damali went to a golf course restaurant to interview Coach Black who had worked at Texas Southern during his youth. The interview went well. Damali told Coach Black she would return with a draft of her article on Monday. When she returned, she learned that the coach had passed away on a Saturday.

What does all of this mean? Well, Damali is in the processing of discerning the meaning.

Now, to share another intriguing series of events.

The Surprise Endings and Hints of Progress

There have been three surprise endings to games in 2009: the ending of the Raiders games against the Bengals, the Steelers, and the Broncos. Each time, these last minute wins occurred, Damali thought about JCI.

So, after her computer crashed, and after she learned of the great professor's death who asked her to contribute to the book he was writing on Sports and Mathematics, she decided to follow her unction to visit JCI on Fourth Street.

She arrived at 1:15 pm a few days ago, and saw three senior citizens in Central Park, near Fourth Street. One of those men was JCI's roommate in the college dormitory at Texas Southern University.

She left the park and drove down Fourth Street to a place where JCI often watches television and "hangs out." After parking her car, and entering the location, there JCI sat, showing very little emotion, and with an expression which seemed to say, "Why did you take so long?"

Damali asked him, "Are you surprised to see me...I came to wish you a Merry Christmas." He said, "No, not really."

She scanned him from head to toe. He was well-dressed, alert, and keen. He had an official Oakland Raiders cap on his head. His hands were manicured, and he stood straight and tall. A trace of his swagger was present. At the age of 67, his posture and muscles seemed toned.

What is the miracle? JCI looks well, is very intelligent and he appeared to be as gentle as a lamb. He quoted one of his favorite scriptures, Psalm One. He smiled and looked Damali in the eyes, showing his alertness and clarity of mind as he gazed at her.

JCI said to Damali, "You know we beat the Broncos, Steelers, and the Bengals."

Damali answered, "Yes, somewhat like you guys did during your career."

The Present, The Connections

Rev. Edsel Warren Brannon, Jr., who owns a Motorola dealership , is present during the writing of this article. He reminded me of his transformative experience when he was 16 years old. He said, "I was at that teenage period when no one could tell me anything. I thought I was grown. So, when people gave me instructions, I disobeyed."

"One day, I left abruptly, went to my Dad's, thinking that I did not have to be governed by Dad's rule, because he wasn't at home...he was at work. I snuck off and went with my buddies, ending up in a car accident and of all the guys in the car, I was the only one who got hurt. A spring came out of the seat and cut my leg. Glass from the windshield lodged in my hand."

"In the meantime, after the doctors cleaned the wound and put 81 stitches in my leg. I was told by the doctors at the hospital that one of my legs would be shorter than the other because of the accident.

"My mother called Damali in New York, and Damali called JCI in Oakland, California. JCI took time and contacted the Oakland Raiders doctors and identified a specialist in the Medical Center in Houston who was an orthopedic surgeon who treated professional athletes. JCI called Damali and told her about the specialist, and I can now say that I walk straight.

"I can truly say, I woke up after that experience. So, I believe a man can change. He affirmed that JCI has had a transformative experience."

The Miracle

The conclusion and words of wisdom:

Rev. Edsel believes a man can change. I believe a man or woman can change. Some people call it redemption, but the fact is, when you embrace the true meaning of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the One (God in flesh) who redeems all mankind, you have a personal experience the transformation that occurs in many peoples lives.

Since the Oakland Raiders is comprised of a team of men who struggled somewhat in 2009, but showed traces of greatness in the recent games with the Bengals, Steelers and Broncos, we affirm that the Oakland Raiders team can change.

Rev. Edsel puts it this way:

"The great Coach is God. He writes the play book and calls the plays in this "football game of life."

"The great referee is the Holy Spirit. He lets us know when we are out of bounds, and he governs you and watches you."

"The great quarterback is Jesus Christ, the one born on Christmas Day. He works in us, through us, and with us. The ball is the Word. He is the Word, and He dwells with us."

"We are the wide receivers, moving in a position to receive the ball (the Word) and running for a touchdown to reach success."

Conclusion

Each of us experience the miracle of Christmas, when that gleam of light shines in our lives, and makes clear the pathway to success. Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth is the greeting to all people around the world.

Finally, the Oakland Raiders team can change, as we know that men and women can change once they have their personal encounter with the true meaning of the celebration of the birth of a baby who is the Redeemer of mankind, and who demonstrated excellence as he was among men and women.

Photo: Rev. Edsel Warren Brannon, Jr., with wife, Emma, and family in St. Louis, Missouri