Raving Over the 2010 Super Bowl

Allow me to introduce you to my good friend and fellow resident chaplain, Cathie. Without Cathie in our group my year in this program would contain less life, diversity, and spirit. We sometimes jokingly refer to Cathie as The Queen of our group, but in all seriousness her poise and confidence are a model for me.

Now, Cathie has not been a blogger (What did you call me?!). However, after months of gentle nudging and near-violent lambasting, we have convinced her to come out of the perverbial blogging closet. What follows is her first blog post, and she has graced my website to be able to publish it. If this keeps up, she'll have her own site and the largest readership of all three of the rest of us combined. I hope she does.

Enjoy.


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I’m not truly a sports fan but I can get into a game if it is live and/or if I am around hyped up fans. If the spirit of the encounter is moving enough to latch on to me, it will happen. Yesterday, I found myself listening to the words of love, camaraderie, and loyalty expressed for the New Orleans Saints. It was the kind of love that transcends, gender, race, religion, and preferences. It draws you in even if you do not know a thing about what a wide receiver, quarterback, or tight end is or does. I watched and listened to the narratives about the history of the team and the much revered players who made the team great. I heard of their struggles and their tenaciousness to gain that comeuppance that would help them to win the NFL on Sunday 7, 2010.

I realized what a huge coming together of so many human beings that shared a common bond in the name of football. Wow! This is like a religion and football is the god of these participants. The yelling, screaming, the height of emotions displayed were mesmerizing and I wondered how players could concentrate on their appointed tasks. So, they must be really good to be able to maintain such concentration in the midst of the exhilaration. I marvel at their strength mentally, emotionally, and physically.........All of them are Saints.

I wonder if football will ever become another world religion. Could it turn this world around if all of us communed together for the sake of the game and uttered its praises? I thought how wonderful it would be if we all worshipped God the way we do Superbowl. What does God think of all of this? Is it God’s way of bringing us together in fun to enjoy each other? I believe that God wants us to be happy and have fun. All good parents want happiness for their children. God is no less concerned.

Another aspect to this is that I am in awe at the bonding, love, and friendship of the players, all championing one common good, to beat the other guys. The team is made up of guys! Guys already get along with each other pretty well and then here is this "NFL" football thing. I realized that guys have almost everything to keep them glued to just the guys. Will they need women in the future? Wow Gals, this is something to think about. Why can’t we have such togetherness? Oh, we can share the games with the guys as they come to our homes to watch the games. We can go to the stadium but…… are we really in? I don’t know. It is scary but I admire the team the fans, and the dedication to the game. Now, I’m sure that women besides me have contemplated and pondered my concerns. Not being a sports person, this is hitting me for the first time. Be lenient with me. Just how these trains of thought could shift, I do not know. For now, I rest my case!