UNDERRATED TO OVERCOMER!
He came out of high school, and no big colleges were interested in him. He wasn’t fast enough, big enough, or talented enough. He was just a skinny kid about six feet tall and 170 pounds and played football in an area that wasn’t known for great competition. Only two small schools from the FCS offered him a scholarship. He accepted one to Eastern Washington.
When he came out of college, not many pro teams were interested in him. He was underrated and overlooked, but the Los Angeles Rams took a chance and drafted him. Wow, what a great move!
In the 2021 football season, he was the best receiver in the NFL. He achieved the triple crown of catches (145), touchdown catches (16), and receiving yards (1947). In the Super Bowl, he led a last-minute comeback by catching multiple passes despite double coverage. He caught the winning touchdown pass with just over a minute to go. He was voted the most valuable player in Super Bowl LVI!
He is a strong Christian. He places Bible verses on his helmet and his sleeve. He always gives a Christian witness when being interviewed. When asked about his Super Bowl ring, he said that, as a Christian, he wanted to win in the game of life where he would receive a trophy that would never perish.
Look what God can do! God took Cooper Kupp from an underrated and overlooked player to the best player on the biggest stage in pro football, and Cooper gives God all the credit.
Last year, Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She is not just a great speller, but she also holds three Guinness World Records for basketball. Zaila dribbled simultaneously the most basketballs (six for 30 seconds), the most basketball bounces (307 in 30 seconds), and the most bounce juggles in 1 minute (255 with four basketballs).
A lot of people said she couldn’t do much. She was underrated but became an overcomer. She excelled beyond people’s expectations.
One of my favorite basketball players is Steph Curry. He is always inspiring people who have felt overlooked, unappreciated, and underrated. Steph Curry was a 3-star recruit, considered the #52 high school point guard in the country, and attended Davidson after being turned down by all the top college programs.
But Curry refused to see himself as underrated. He has a strong Christian faith. He believed God saw him as an overcomer and helped him develop an elite positive attitude about shooting a basketball.
Curry has risen to a level where he is considered the greatest shooter in basketball history. On December 14, 2021, the Warriors were playing the New York Knicks. With 7:33 remaining in the first quarter of the game, Curry hit a 3 pointer which broke Ray Allen’s all-time 3-point field goal record of 2,973. He set a record that people think will never be broken. And he still has a lot of games to play!
Steph Curry has a strong faith and believes that nobody should accept less than what God created them to be. There is no room for excuses. You can’t listen to all the people who tell you what you can’t do. Listen to God and learn what He can do through you!
God delights in turning the underrated into overcomers!
