Either Way . . . Jesus Wins

 

Come the national championship for college football . . . Jesus wins!  Jesus wins because he placed bets on both teams—the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the Buckeyes of Ohio State University.  Jesus can’t lose.  Whoever wins, Jesus wins.

The starting quarterbacks for both teams have proclaimed their presence in the title game to be solely the result of Jesus’ holy intervention.  Notre Dame’s quarterback Riley Leonard argues that the national championship is the work of divine choosing.  Leonard told reporters: “We’re the two main teams to just publicly display our faith the most.  I truly believe that Jesus was looking over both our shoulders throughout the season and put these two teams on a pedestal for a reason.”

 

Yup—Notre Dame and Ohio State.  Those are Jesus’ picks this year.  The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had a school in the running—Texas Christian University but did not make the cut.  The Methodist team—Southern Methodist University—got left out in the dust.  The Baptist could not get it done with Baylor University.  The Mormons struck out with Brigham Young University.  Boston College—another Catholic entry didn’t show up.  Apparently, these fine schools need to crank up their faith if they want to play for the national championship.  Oh, ye of little faith!

 

I can see Notre Dame’s argument.  They do have “Touchdown Jesus”.  Surely you have heard of “Touchdown Jesus”.  It is a 134-foot mural of Jesus giving the signal for “touchdown” that can be seen from the Notre Dame stadium.  It appears to be “watching” the games from over the northern scoreboard.  Many millions believe that Jesus’ presence has some influence over the team’s performance.  Built in 1964 and titled "The Word of Life”, the team only lost one home game in the next three years (Apparently Jesus was on vacation when they lost.) including their first victory over Michigan State in ten years.  The Jesus factor was and is in play for the Fighting Irish.  Of course, at the same time the mural was built the university hired one of the greatest college football coaches of all time—Ara Parseghian.  Surely this College Hall of Fame coach—two-time national champion while at Notre Dame—coaching had nothing to do with it.  It was Jesus . . . it is the divine touch of Jesus leading the way.  Come on . . . “Touchdown Jesus”!  Who can compete against that?

 

Ohio State Buckeyes . . . I’m not sure how they got into the picture.  It’s not a religious school.  It is a public land-grant university—one of the largest in the United States.  It chooses no religious affiliation and is open to all the players in the realm of religion.  It is a smorgasbord of faiths thrown together from left to right.  Not quite sure they showed up on Jesus’ radar.  Whatever the case, the Buckeye quarterback is giving Jesus the credit for success.  It was Jesus’ choice.

 

Athletes and celebrities are always giving Jesus credit for their success here and there.  I remember one winner of some award show famously stating, “God damn!  Thank you, Jesus!”  I’m not sure it was heartfelt, but it was a great mixture of the profane and gratitude. These people do it all the time . . . they “cross” themselves before shooting a free throw or scoring a touchdown . . . they point heavenward . . . they kneel.  They give credit where credit is due.  All the winners do . . . after all, Jesus chooses them.

 

How come we never hear the “losers” thanking Jesus?  As you know there can only be one winner.  You never see an interview with the lose in which they bemoan the fact that Jesus turned and abandoned them in the “big game”.  Wait!  Jesus doesn’t abandon the faithful . . . or does he?  Ask the faithful on the losing team . . . the ones who were certain that Jesus had gotten them this far . . . and then . . . disappeared.  When the final score is recorded at the end of the Notre Dame/Ohio State with one of them being proclaimed national champion, ask the two quarterbacks.  If Jesus got both teams to the championship game—why did Jesus pick one team over the other to win?  Did he flip a coin?  Throw a dart?

 

I guess it doesn’t matter . . . Jesus wins no matter who is leading when the game is over.  The victors will proclaim “thanks” to the divine for making them champions.  On the other side of the field, they will be wondering . . .

 

It has been said that in war both sides plea their side to the divine . . . both sides pray for God’s deliverance . . . both sides put their faith in the divine.  Both sides want God’s intervention for their side and cause.  Want God to make them the victor.  Yet only one side can win.  As we have seen throughout history the victor hasn’t always been the one doing God’s will.  What happens to those on the losing side who prayed for Go’s touch for their side?  I guess they didn’t pray hard enough.

 

Will it be Jesus’ desire that Notre Dame win?  Will it be his will that Ohio State win?  Rumor has it that his father is big Fighting Irish fan.  Personally, I don’t think Jesus will have anything to do with whoever wins the game.  It is a game.  It is not “life or death”.  Far from it.  The team that plays the best, makes the least mistakes, gets a few breaks, and scores the most points will win.  That is the way that it has always been no matter how many players on each team believe Jesus got them there.

 

It is just a game.

 

In the end what is important is how the game is played.  That’s life . . . how the game is played.  Was there respect?  Was there compassion?  Was there justice and fairness?  Was there love?  That is what Jesus roots for—relationships.  To love one another.  To build up one another.  To want the best.  To be the best that we can as family because we are all family—all connected—the divine and holy recognizes the divine and holy in others.  That is what Jesus cares about . . . what would make Jesus throw up his arms . . . TOUCHDOWN!  That is what makes us winners.

 

Who Wins? God Knows . . . NOT!

Notre Dame believes . . . after all, they have their Touchdown Jesus.  Tim Tebow believes . . . story is that at the end of his miraculous season with the Denver Broncos he prayed to God to give them help . . . and, God gave them Peyton Manning.  Probably more Auburn University fans than not, believe . . . two last second miracle games in a row got them into the national championship . . . only by the “grace of God” and bunch of chicken Bowl Championship Series selectors picking them over Michigan State.  Apparently a lot of people believe that God “plays a role in determining which team wins” sports events . . . 27 percent of Americans according to a survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute last January. 

Personally, I don’t think God gives a hoot one way or another about who wins any sporting event.  I think that God is way too busy with a whole lot of more important stuff than whether or not some player can kick the winning field goal, knock a homerun out of the park, or win a national championship.  Looking at the shape of world today after we humans have been having our say in it for so long, I imagine that God is pretty busy with other things than sports.  Besides, as an avid University of Nebraska Cornhusker football fan, I have prayed for years since Tom Osborne retired for another national championship . . . and, those prayers have gone unanswered.  Shoot, I would take a Big Ten championship . . . but, no!  I forget, God is a Notre Dame fan . . . remember, Touchdown Jesus.  It is probably better to admit that God is too busy than to acknowledge that God just might not care a whole heck about the Cornhuskers since Coach Osborne retired.

For those believers wearing the Auburn University colors . . . it wasn’t God that determined their fate this season, it was luck.  It was luck and poor defense that allowed the “Hail Mary” pass to be caught through the Georgia secondary to win the game.  It was luck and the fact that the Alabama defense didn’t keep playing that allowed the missed field goal to be returned 106 yards for the winning score against the Crimson Tide.  God had no hand in any of that . . . it was pure, dumb luck.  Besides, God is a God of justice and would never, ever allow a SEC team in the national championship for the umpteenth time in a row . . . if God really cared.  Shoot, Notre Dame would be playing in the championship and would be undefeated every year.  Come on . . . God had nothing to do with Auburn’s luck no matter how much better they were than a year ago.

God just does not care . . . but, there are people out there who think that God does care.  At one of the regional cross country meets held in Kentucky before their state championships, a runner from Whitley County was set to compete until she was assigned the bib number 666—“the number of the beast” according to the Bible.  She refused to wear the number.  Both she and her coach appealed to the race officials for a new number, but they refused . . . so she decided not to race.  Her reason?  “I didn’t want to risk my relationship with God,” she said.  Personally, I don’t think God would have gotten her mixed up with the beast as she was running . . . it was a cross country race for sport, not world domination.  God doesn’t care.

Besides, evil does not dwell in the lowly sports of running . . . everyone knows that it is New York where evil resides.  A panel of trademark judges affirmed and confirmed it last February when they ruled against a company called Evil Enterprises.  Since 2008 Evil Enterprises has been attempting to market a line of baseball-related product trademarked as “Baseballs Evil Empire”.  But Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees challenged them over the title.  In February, the judges ruled, “There is only one Evil Empire in baseball, and it is the New York Yankees.”  Those damn Yankees!  But God doesn’t care . . . shoot where were the Yankees this past season?  Look at what is happening to their team . . . drug scandals, retiring superstars, and the second largest luxury tax paid since the tax was instituted 11 years ago (which they have contributed $252.7 of the $285.1 million dollars or 88.6 percent of the total tax since its inception) . . . evil pure evil . . . but God doesn’t care about baseball . . . at least not since the Miracle Mets of 1969.

Speaking of those Miracle Mets . . . and, this is how I know that God does not care about sports . . . I was and am a loyal Baltimore Orioles fan . . . those were the guys that blew the World Series against the Mets.  I know that I prayed just as hard as any Mets fan . . . hey, we had one of the best teams ever assembled that year . . . for the Birds to win the series.  We didn’t win . . . we just got beat by good baseball and luck.  Had to be . . . God was busy doing other things that were more important . . . at least that is what I keep telling myself.  It beats thinking God ignored my prayers!

I do not think that God cares about sports.  I feel for those 27 percent of Americans who believe that God plays an active role in deciding sporting events.  I feel for them because anything can happen whenever two teams square off against each other . . . ask the Crimson Tide of Alabama or the Bulldogs of Georgia . . . the ball can bounce any way it bounces.  No, in the grand scheme of things . . . in God’s ultimate design . . . sports are probably not the number one priority for God’s time and attention.  Having said that, I do think that God appreciates a little acknowledgement from time to time—even in the world of sports:

But, come on, who really seriously thinks that God is an avid sports fan dictating the outcomes of sporting events?  If God were a sports fan, God would be a Cornhusker fan . . . after all, Nebraska is God’s Country . . . no one else would have it!  That I believe.