What if the world is measuring the wrong things?
This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy's Class of 1977. What struck me most was not his position in Major League Baseball, but the way he saw people.
At one point, someone brought him food. His response was simple:
“I appreciate you.”
I have thought about those three words ever since.
There is a profound difference between saying “thank you” and saying “I appreciate you.” One acknowledges what someone has done; the other recognizes who they are. Those three words reveal the heart of Coach Murphy's leadership.
In August, Murphy removed a young player from a game after he failed to meet the team's standards. Murphy later explained, “I love the kid, and I believe in the kid immensely.” He held the player accountable because the standard mattered. Afterward, his teammates were there to support him.
Accountability is a form of love. It says, “You are capable of more.” Encouragement says, “I believe in you.” Community says, “You do not have to do this alone.”
Last night, Coach Murphy and the Brewers made history, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers to reach the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Against one of baseball's most formidable organizations, a team so often described as an underdog accomplished something extraordinary.
But perhaps the greatest mistake is assuming that an underdog is defined by what they lack.
Pictured: Coach Pat Murphy ’77 (center) receives custom CBA/Milwaukee Brewers apparel in 2024, surrounded by CBA baseball players, President Matthew Keough, and Dan Murphy ’65.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a man lay wounded along the road. A priest and a Levite passed by, people whose religious standing might have led others to expect compassion. Yet it was a Samaritan, someone regarded as an outsider, who stopped to care for him.
The world saw the Samaritan as someone who lacked what mattered. Yet he possessed everything he needed to answer the call.
The Samaritan was not deficient; society's judgment of him was.
More than three centuries ago, Saint John Baptist de La Salle challenged similar assumptions. His schools faced opposition, lawsuits, and financial hardship. By worldly standards, De La Salle might have been considered an underdog.
Yet he understood something the world too often overlooked: the God-given dignity and potential of every young person. He did not see young people merely for what they lacked, but for what they already possessed.
His faith did not simply inspire hope for a better future. It moved him to build one.
He also understood that he could not build it alone. Rather than simply establishing schools and preparing teachers, he formed a community of Brothers united by faith and a mission greater than themselves. Together, they accomplished what none could have achieved alone.
Isn't that the very heart of our Lasallian mission at CBA?
Our calling is not simply to hope that young people overcome the odds, but to recognize the potential already within them and help them realize it. We hold students to high expectations because we believe in who they can become. We accompany them through challenges because neither their circumstances nor their mistakes define their future.
This week, look closely at the people around you.
Who needs someone to recognize the potential others have overlooked?
Who needs to be challenged because you believe in what they can become?
Who can we bring closer, so that together we can accomplish what none of us could achieve alone?
Sometimes, it all begins with three simple words:
“I appreciate you.”
Whether you are celebrating the Brewers' historic pennant run or walking the hallways of CBA, perhaps Coach Murphy offers us a reminder worth carrying forward: those the world labels underdogs may never have been underdogs at all. They may simply be waiting for someone to see what has been there all along, believe in what they can become, and bring them together to accomplish something greater than any could achieve alone.
Mr. Matthew Keough
President, Christian Brothers Academy
