Suffering, If You Want to Choose a Worthy Path. with John Owen

Chaps! and Author of “Into the Fire: A Season of Navy Football, Fortitude and Faith”.  John Owen was the Navy Football team Chaplain for the 2007 season.  A 10 year Coast Guard Helo pilot, transitioned to 17 year Navy Chaplain. Now retired, living in Spokane, Washington.  Alum of Cal Berkley for a year then Whitworth College as an english major.  Chaps talks about the lessons he’s learned over the years, specifically in his one year with NFB.  He discusses “when things are not going well”, his journey through prostate cancer, talking through PTSD, and his Price of Admission.  ...A lot of it was Gratitude.

Chaplain Owen’s book - “Into the Fire: A Season of Navy Football, Fortitude and Faith” is a book written by John Owen, chronicling the 2007 season of the United States Naval Academy football team. The book provides an insider’s look at the team, the coaches, and the players, as well as their struggles and triumphs on and off the field.
For most college football players, practice is the most difficult part of their day, and for many of them, playing for the NFL is the goal. At the United States Naval Academy, the twenty-one hours a day the players spend off the field are at least as demanding as the three that they spend on the field, and their post-college futures are determined: serving their country as officers leading Sailors and Marines. For over 130 years, Navy football has maintained a proud tradition of courage, resilience, and never flinching in the face of long odds and a good fight. The 2007 season was a thrilling and timeless example of the inseparable goals of Navy football: winning on the field and developing future officers of character and integrity. Through the words that the team chaplain shared with the team prior to every game, you’ll see why, at Navy, football is about a lot more than just football. “ . . . more than a story about athletics . . . It is a stimulating read” -Roger Staubach, USNA ’65, 1963 Heisman Trophy & Super Bowl VI MVP. “It is inspiring to learn the truths that Chaplain Owen shared with the team prior to each game. The lessons are universal . . . what a great read” -The Honorable John H. Dalton, former Secretary of the Navy