| Without a doubt, one of the most compelling sports stories of late
is the improbable run into and through the playoffs of the expansion Jacksonville
Jaguars in the NFL. As I write this, they stand one game away from
going to the Super Bowl in only their second year of existence. I
know the Carolina Panthers are in the same situation, but their story is
different. They won their division, while the Jags slipped in as
a wild card when the best field goal kicker in the history of the game
(arguably) missed a gimme in the last game of the season. It would
seem that this team was blessed, and therein lies the rub.
You see, after one of their playoff wins (I think last week against Denver, but don't hold me to that), NBC eagerly ran to get an interview with Jags QB Mark Brunell, who is having a career year. The eager sports reporter stuck his mike in Mark's face and asked him about the game. Mark's first reply wasn't about how hard his teamates worked or how well the other team had played. No, his first words were thanking God for helping them win. Normally, when an athlete thanks the Lord for a victory, it's a personal thing, and that's fine. If you want to publicly thank your god for giving you the strength to stare down Bruce Smith all day or what have you, great. That works for some people, and it's not my place to say it doesn't. But that wasn't what Brunell said. He was saying that God helped the entire team win the game, and that's just not right. From the way Brunell and some other Jags, including coach Tom Coughlin, God was actually in the press box calling the plays. If He was, great job, by the way. But that implication has an ugly other side. You see, if God helped the Jags win, He alternately helped the Bills and the Broncos lose. Does that make any sense? Of course it doesn't. And you'd never hear one of the vanquished gridiron warriors say "we would have won the game, but Jesus made me fumble!" If he did, he'd be hounded out of popular society. Who knows what the league would do. If you don't kick out the drug fiends, what do you do with the religious cynics? It could be worse, you could be in NASCAR. Several years ago, when Lake Speed (I believe) won his first Winston Cup race, he thanked God in the winner's circle. Boy, if you thought is was bad when God caused one other team to lose, how about fourty-one other teams and drivers? "What's the point?", you say. Well, my point is this. Religion
is a tricky thing, and it means different things to different people.
It's also deeply personal. I'm not saying Mark Brunell or any other
athelete should hide away his faith in public. There are several
very devout atheletes out there, and most of the time they're not the ones
who spend their off season with a spoon up their nose. But think
before you speak on national television. Think about the implications
of a statement like Brunell made on the other team, who probably prayed
just as hard for guidance and assistance before the game, too. Only
someone forgot to give Him the message.
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