As I sat down to write today’s post, I started thinking (always a dangerous proposition) and found myself asking the following question:
What does God
think about the Super Bowl?
Strangely enough, “Super Bowl” doesn’t appear in my Bible index. So I turned to the next best thing: Google. I did a search using the phrase god and the super bowl and in 0.24 seconds, I had more than 236 million items to choose from. Here’s a mere sampling …
Super $$$: Some facts & figures:
- Last year’s game was the most-watched TV event ever, with an audience of 111 million.
- A 30-second ad will cost $3.5 million or $116,666.67 a second.
- NBC expects to net $250 million from the game.
- Each member of the winning team gets $88,000. The losers get $44,000 apiece.
- The cheapest ticket to the game is going for $2,100. A luxury suite can be yours for a mere $650,000.
- Fans are expected to spend $11 billion on Super Bowl-related purchases, including 1.25 billion chicken wings and 5 million new TVs.
- Here are a few other facts & figures that might just make you want to spend your $$$ a little differently.
God the Underdog? Speaking of betting, you can now wager on virtually anything remotely related to the game, including whom the MVP will thank first in his post-game interview. Last year, God was the clear favorite. This year, however, he slipped all the way to third, behind “teammates” and “nobody.” Yikes.
Top God Thankers. Speaking of thanking God, this article ranks the top 12 “God Thankers” of all time. The list includes such notables as Drew Brees, Reggie White and, of course, Tim Tebow.
Tebow, Faith & the Super Bowl. Speaking of Tebow, even though his team was pounded out of the playoffs his unabashed love for Jesus continue to make headlines.
Tom Brady is Not God. Even thought he out-dueled Tebow, Tom Brady is not God (at least according to the Giants).
Thank God for Super Bowl Tickets. A story about a Patriots-loving man who bought a pair of Super Bowl tickets for his Giants-loving brother as a birthday present. From a bunch of nuns. For $8,012.33. Seriously.
Is It OK To Pray For Your Team to Win the Super Bowl? In other words, if millions of Giants fans pray for the Giants to win and then the Patriots stomp them, does that mean that God doesn’t answer prayer (or that He’s a Patriots fan)? Uhh … no. As the author points out, God isn’t a “cosmic vending machine.”
Super Sunday School: Here’s a Super Bowl-themed Bible Study that contrasts what followers of the Patriots and Giants look like versus followers of Jesus (body paint vs. clothed in love). Or check out Sunday School Super Bowl, a game in which kids answer Bible trivia questions for a chance to get into the eternal end zone. There are Super Bowl-based Bible studies for adults, too – here’s one written by Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy that asks “What’s your game plan?”
Super Faith. This video features interviews with players from both teams acknowledging that God is waaaaaaaaaay more super than any football game. Notable quotes:
“Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I put Him first. He’s given me this opportunity to showcase on a large scale about the works He’s done in my life.” Devin Thomas, Giants
“My faith has helped me because I know it’s an audience of one and that I’m just performing for Jesus.” Prince Amukamara, Giants
“I’m all in. I’m all in with Christ … He put me here to exalt Him and humble myself.” Hakeem Nix, Giants
“Without my relationship with Christ nothing else really matters. This is obviously the greatest situation to be in in football and in my athletic career but my faith comes first.” Danny Woodhead, Patriots
“Life is bigger than football. You can’t do this forever. What I’m going to be is a God-fearing Christian.” Deion Branch, Patriots
“I’m a true believer that God’s in control. You know, Romans 8:28 says that God is going to work everything together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So, you have to at the end of the day just trust the plan. And trust that we don’t always know what the plan is but it’s not up to us to know what the plan is. It’s God’s plan.” Matt Slater, Patriots
Amen!
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