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Super Bowl Champ Elvis and I were in the building!

This month I had the privilege of speaking once again at the annual Men of Faith Conference in London, Ontario. Hundreds of brave men braved a pretty decent snowstorm to join us at St Michael’s Church. And, as a lifelong sports fan and NFL nut, it was a special treat for me that the other speaker at this event was none other than Elvis Grbac!

For those of you who don’t know Elvis Grbac from, well, that other guy who made the name famous, Elvis Grbac was a well-known quarterback throughout the 1990s. When I was in high school, Elvis was the QB of my favorite college squad, the University of Michigan Wolverines (and, unlike modern-day Michigan signal-callers, I might add, he never once lost to Ohio State). Grbac’s Michigan (and high school) teammate, Desmond Howard won the Heisman trophy (given to America’s best college football player) while receiving Grbac’s passes and running back kicks in ’92.

After his college career, Elvis played — and started — for the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs (the two teams who will meet in this Sunday’s Super Bowl — Elvis really can’t lose when it comes to this matchup), finishing his career with the Baltimore Ravens.

Like me, Elvis has also been a guest on The Journey Home Program on EWTN, hosted by Marcus Grodi. Check it out if you want to learn more about his rediscovery of his Catholic faith.

I really enjoyed having the chance to sit down with Elvis for breakfast the day of the conference and get to know him a little bit better. As you can see from the picture above, I’m more along the lines of Doug Flutie, stature-wise, next to Elvis (who’s 6’5″).

Elvis began his presentations by holding up his Super Bowl ring (he was the backup to Steve Young for the 49ers’ win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX) and saying “This is the golden calf, fellas! Men give their lives for this…” Great stuff.

For my part, I spoke about how to evangelize in the context of personal friendships, much like the early Christians did. It was a great day, and my thanks go to the Family Foundations institute for inviting Elvis and me to share our faith journeys with these awesome guys.

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How a Patriots Super Bowl ring gave life to orphans

2001 RingAs we get ready for The Big Game today, here’s a fantastic story about former New England Patriot Jerod Cherry, who won three Super Bowls with the team. Cherry donated his most prized Super Bowl ring, from the 2001 team (the Patriots’ first championship) to help pay for an orphanage that rescues children from drugs and sex trafficking.

Ian O’Connor, writing for ESPN:

Cherry was moved by a presentation that included the image of a starving, emaciated child in a faraway land and of a nearby vulture apparently waiting for the child to die. “I’m a father with four kids, and something like that really puts you in your place,” he said.

and:

But Cherry had read about Cain and Abel, and he decided his sacrifice needed to be more like Abel’s. “No disrespect to the other two rings,” he said. “I easily could’ve given the second or third one, and nobody would’ve said anything. But my thought was, ‘If I’m going to give anything that’s sacrificial and supposed to represent my faith in God, I’d better give my best and what I care about the most.'”

Incredibly poignant story about what O’Connor calls “the most valuable ring in Super Bowl history”.

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“Contemplating” The Super Bowl

Many millions will watch the Super Bowl today. Many Christians might even feel guilty for doing so – afraid that watching sports is nothing more than a “waste of time”. As a big sports fan myself, I’ve heard that one over and over from friends and relatives who, intentionally or not, make me feel guilty for enjoying athletics.

Sports fans, I have some good – no, make that super – news for you! As it turns out, watching sports can actually be a form of contemplation, according to Father James V. Schall, SJ. In his marvellous book of essays, “Reasonable Pleasures” (Ignatius Press), Fr Schall argues that something similar happens to us when we watch a great game, something that’s quite similar to what happens when we contemplate the Almighty. We’re taken “out of ourselves”. Aristotle, writing in the 4th century BC, noted that sport, or play in general, is actually the closest many people ever get to this highest plane of human activity, contemplation. And that similarity makes sense. C.S. Lewis once wrote that “play is the serious business of heaven”.

Enjoy “contemplating” the game, everyone!

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