Feb
11
Written by:
Dennis Atwood
2/11/2010 2:37 PM
It’s official now. Hell has frozen over. The New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl Champions! Growing up in central Mississippi, I was five years old when the New Orleans Saints franchise played its first game. The Saints became a regional NFL team for those of us in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama with no other professional sports teams to cheer for.
It wasn’t until 1979 that under the leadership of a quarterback named Archie Manning the Saints had their first “non-losing season” with a record of 8-8. Later came those infamous bags and the nickname the “Aints.” Then in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina having an NFL football team in New Orleans at all was the looming question.
People said for years that hell would freeze over before the Saints ever got to the Super Bowl—much less win the Super Bowl. However, as of Sunday night, ice skates are now being issued at the Gates of Hades.
I’m glad the Saints won. I never thought I would see it. I’m happy for the longsuffering people of New Orleans—a city I lived in for two years. But it’s curious how a game and an iconic trophy are supposed to transform people’s lives, or at least that’s what all the super hype of the Super Bowl seems to communicate.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m an avid sports fan and I want my teams to win. I would have very little to watch on TV if all the games were removed. But I’m sure by now that hell is beginning to thaw out. Truth be told, the sports world is an escape from the problems of the real world. Escaping reality for awhile is often necessary, and in the world of sports, a game is only a game.
In the world that we live in, however, hell needs to be invaded by the inbreaking of God’s kingdom every day, every hour, everywhere. How does this happen? Through the lives of faithful Christ-followers.