For 139 years, the Derby has been a part of our state's identity. It makes us unique. For two minutes, the world's eyes are on us. The fastest two minutes in sports. So fast that the commentators don't even take the time to learn how to properly pronounce the word "Louisville".
My daughter found this out the hard way.
For the last few days at school, her kindergarten class learned about the Derby. They learned about the horses and the race. They made stick horses and raced them. She knew their names before I did. They even got to experience riding a real horse on Friday. She even knew (well, sort of knew) the words to "My Old Kentucky Home".
Saturday was an exciting day for my family.
We watched the coverage for about an hour up to the race. My wife got both my girls a derby hat. I washed my mouth out with Scope, so it smelled like I had been drinking a mint julep. My wife pulled up the list of contenders and we each picked the horse we thought would win. My youngest daughter selected "Palace Malice" for the obvious princess connection, while my oldest selected "It's My Lucky Day" based solely on the colors of the silk. Ellie Grace even wrote the name of the horses and drew a picture for each person's pick on a restaurant ticket from her waitress dress up kit.
Ellie Grace was pumped about her first real derby.
Finally, it was race time. We all intensely watched the race for two minutes. It was a fun race to watch. Or so I thought.
Once Orb had crossed the finish line, Ellie Grace sat with a look of complete and totally disappointment on her face. She sat dumbfounded as she processed the race. After sitting there for a minute, she finally said, "Is that it? You people are crazy!"
The race didn't live up to the hype for her. That's all she had heard about for a couple of days and when it was over, it was over.
Unfortunately, that's how it is for many of us.
Life doesn't always live up to the hype.
You heard about how great marriage is, but when you got married it didn't live up to the hype.
You finally got that job you wanted, but then you started having to work 50 and 60 hours a week. It didn't live up to the hype.
You became a Christian, only to find out that you still feel broken. All this God stuff didn't live up to the hype.
What hasn't lived up to the hype in your life?
That's the problem with hype. Once it's over, it's over.
Too often we live for the big events in our life. At the conclusion of the event, the excitement is over and we are left with a feeling of emptiness. So what do we do? We look for the next big event. That's how we measure the importance of our lives.
But you shouldn't be living from event to event. Or until the next big thing comes along. Don't live in a state of, "When this happens..."
My daughter was disappointed with the Derby and that made her forget about everything she had experienced. For goodness sake, she actually rode a horse!
Don't get so caught up in the hype that you miss it. Be excited about the things that you should be excited about. But don't forget to enjoy the moments that lead up to them.
Question:
What hype has failed you?
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