The Bigger Game

God, our Father, we know that every good gift comes down from you. Teach us to always place the greatest importance on what matters most to you. Amen.

The Super bowl XLIII match-up between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburg Steelers showcased two players who have distinguished themselves as men who see the bigger game, beyond the hype. Though they were rivals on the field, off the field Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals, share common ground in their Christian faith. In this lesson we will take a brief look at their faith and their values.

For Troy Polamalu, who plays safety for the Pittsburg Steelers, the 2009 Super Bowl was his second time playing in the “big game”.  In 2006, Polamalu helped the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.  He knows what it’s like to perform under pressure.  He has achieved the kind of success that most amateur and even many pro football players will only dream about.

Polamalu normally deflects praise and attention, always reminding others that giving glory to God is more important.  In a 2006 article for Catholic Online, Troy states that “success in football doesn’t matter.  Success in anything doesn’t matter.  As Mother Teresa said, God calls us not to be successful but to be faithful. My prayer is that I would glorify God no matter what, and not have success be the definition of it.”

Troy has dealt with adversity. He was the youngest of five children. Suila, his mother, had to raise all of them alone; on welfare, and in a rough section of Los Angeles. His older brother and sisters were already in a lot of real trouble in high school. “I was just a little hood-rat, walking around parks by myself, hanging out with homeless guys…”

When he was eight years old, Troy’s family visited their uncle and his family in Oregon. It seemed beautiful and serene there compared to the streets of L.A. Even though he was young, Troy saw a chance at a better life. At the end of the visit, he begged his mom to let him stay there. Realizing that this was a better environment for her child, she gave permission.

He loved living with his Uncle Salu, Aunt Shelley, and their three sons. From them he learned about his Polynesian culture; especially, their traditional reverence for family, faith, and personal responsibility. Troy attended Catholic school, and he discovered the power of prayer and dialogue with God at a young age. He developed a deep, personal relationship with God as his true Father. “The beautiful thing about the way I was raised is that I didn’t really have parents, and in that way I had to rely on God.”

Troy defines faith in one word: surrender. “It’s knowing in your heart that God will take care of you… We all have to struggle to overcome our adversities…When Jesus was on the cross, he didn’t say, ‘Father in heaven, He said ‘Daddy.’ This is an intimate relationship. This isn’t praying to the unknown.”

Theodora, Troy’s wife, belongs to the Greek Orthodox Christian church. While they were dating he asked her a lot of questions about her beliefs. As he fell in love with her, he fell in love with her faith. When they got married, Troy passionately embraced her practice of faith. They attend weekly Mass (they prefer to call it Divine Liturgy).  He is described by others as a “soft-spoken, Christian family man.”

Troy prays daily, and he says that should be true of every Christian.  He also prays during his games, both on the sidelines and after each play.  Those who have watched him on TV may remember seeing him make the sign of the cross, a trademark he is happy to bear. To some of us it may seem he makes it backwards, but Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians still follow an old tradition of blessing their right shoulder first.

Troy does not spend his free time hanging out with his teammates, studying replay tapes, or watching games; he spends his time with his wife and their new son, Paisios.  “Football is, for me, it’s something I do. It’s like [being] a reporter. It’s what you do, not who you are. Football does not define me. How I am with my faith and how I treat my wife is what truly defines [me] as a man. That is my goal in life: to live that way and believe in it.”

Many players and writers comment about how humble and unselfish Troy is. When he is not able to make a big play, he does whatever he can to help his teammates make one. In this particular Super Bowl game, Troy didn’t play the most outstanding game. He spent most of the game quietly helping to cover the Cardinals’ star receiver, Larry FItzgerald. This kept him out of the limelight and action; but he did his part humbly, and for the first three quarters of the game Fitzgerald had only one catch.

The Steelers won 27-23 in what turned out to be one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory, and  they set a new record as the only NFL team to win six Super Bowls.

During his post game interview, Troy had his son Paisios on his knee. “It’s a blessing,” he said about winning the game. “I don’t know how much he (his infant son) will remember, but he’ll have two rings in his vault, and, God willing, maybe more. He’s speechless right now as you can see.”

Troy has said he loves playing for the Steelers, because they are a hard working, family owned and family friendly team.

“I hope [winning the most Super Bowls] can be an example to people. It’s a legacy that’s not built on pride. It’s a legacy that’s built on humility and unselfishness.”

Just a few days before the Super Bowl, the teams met with the press for what is called media day. During his interview time, Troy took this opportunity to publicly acknowledge one of his opponents who also uses Super Bowl stardom to share his faith in Jesus:

“Kurt [Warner] (the Arizona Cardinals quarterback) has a platform to share just like every athlete and he is using it.” Daniel Sepulveda, one of Troy’s teammates added, “Every time I hear Kurt Warner talking about his faith… it inspires me to hear guys like that who are willing to share… He’s not on my team here, but we’re on the same team all the time.”

Like Polamalu, Kurt Warner seeks to live his life as an example of his Christian faith.  Warner had also been to the Super Bowl before this one. He led the St. Louis Rams in two Super Bowl games, winning one of them.  Kurt knows the pressure that comes with that kind of spotlight, especially as a starting quarterback.  Unlike Polamalu, however, Warner knows that life in the NFL can be pretty hard if you don’t win.

Some people are calling Warner’s 2009 return to the Super bowl with the Arizona Cardinals a “comeback”.  Kurt identifies the time between his glory days with the Rams and his 2005 arrival in Arizona as a dark time that led him to seek God.  Perhaps, instead of a comeback, this Super bowl visit was a reward for his fidelity.

Adversity has not been a stranger to Kurt. Warner began his career as a free agent, and had to prove himself in Arena football and European leagues before catching his first big break and becoming a Super bowl champion.

In his personal life, Kurt had to work hard to prove himself to his wife when he first met her, as well.  She had two children from a previous marriage, one of them  a son with special needs.  She tried to discourage his interest in her, but Kurt wouldn’t go away.

Today Kurt and his wife, Brenda, have seven children; he legally adopted the two she already had, and they have had five more together.  Their family also struggled when Brenda’s parents, who had retired and just moved to Arkansas, were both tragically killed in a tornado.  All of these events reminded Kurt that God is truly most important in life.

“If you ever really want to do a story about who I am, God’s got to be at the center of it. Every time I hear a piece or read a story that doesn’t have that, they’re missing the whole lesson of who I am.”  Kurt has told the Arizona Republic how much it pains him when reporters don’t take his faith seriously.

He explains that he feels responsible because of the “platform that football has given him”, to share the truth of his faith with others.  He doesn’t want to be “in your face” about it. It is just a very real part of who he is as a person.  It has helped him handle adversity, and it has helped him to handle success as well.

Before the 2009 Super Bowl began Kurt was given a special honor, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. This award is given to a player who gives selflessly to his community. Kurt and Brenda have given more than $1.5 million and countless hours of their time to charities like Make a Wish, Habbitat for Humanity, the Special Olympics, and medical mercy missions with the US Armed Forces. Kurt responded,  “I am humbled the Lord has given me such an amazing life to impact others. Of all the awards given to NFL athletes, the Walter Payton Man of the Year is the one that stands out above the rest to me because of what it represents. When people look back at my career I want them to see a fierce competitor, but more importantly, I want to be remembered for my consistency of character and the legacy I hope to leave…”

Although Arizona didn’t win the Super Bowl, Kurt played a great game. He had the second highest passing yardage in Super Bowl history (Kurt also holds 1st and 3rd place in this category), and he broke the record for lifetime Super Bowl passing yards. Warner led his team in a fourth quarter comeback against the Steelers’ #1 rated defense, and nearly won the game if not for an amazing Pittsburgh drive in the final minutes. Kurt said he was proud of his teammates and all they had accomplished.

Fame, success, and football aren’t the driving forces in these two athletes’ lives.  Troy Polamalu and Kurt Warner use their fame, success, and football, as instruments to glorify what they know is the most important thing in life: living a Christian witness, both to the world of football and beyond.  They try to become men of character through football and their love of God, both on and off the field.

The Super Bowl is always the biggest game in football, but there is a bigger game. It’s the the game of becoming real men and women.  Examples like Troy and Kurt help us to examine our own lives nad ask ourselves, are we winning the game about the most important things in life?

Bible Blurbs

“Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.”
Hebrews 10:23

“Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope…”
Romans 5:3-4

“…until we all attain to …mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ…”
Ephesians 4:13

“So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Do you wish to go with this man?’ She answered, ‘I do.’ … Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent; he married her, and thus she became his wife. In his love for Rebekah Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah.”
Genesis 24:58, 67

Look it up HERE: www.usccb.org/nab/bible

Catechism Clips

1656: In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith….

1880:  By means of society, each man… receives certain “talents” that enrich his identity and whose fruits he must develop…

1937: … [God] wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular “talents” share the benefits with those who need them.

2207: …The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. ..

Look it up HERE: http://www.usccb.org/catechism

Pope Quotes

“…when sport is practiced in the right spirit, and with respect for dignity, it helps to promote the development of the person…
…Sport helps man to consider his own capacities as a talent and his life as a gift of God…
…Even when sport is practiced at high levels, it is important to maintain an inner harmony between body and spirit in order not to reduce it to a mere search for results…
… [these virtues] must always characterize sporting activity: tenacity, a spirit of sacrifice, interior and exterior discipline…
…as well as a sense of justice, awareness of ones own limits and a respect for others. All virtues for which you must train yourselves in daily life…
…In a period marked by a loss of values and a lack of orientation, athletes can provide powerful motivations to work in favor of good in the various areas of life, from the family to the workplace…”

Pope Benedict XVI
October 6, 2007
Message to the Austrian Alpine Ski Team

Saints and Heroes:

Princess with a heart of Gold:

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (entered heaven in 1231 AD, her feast day is November 17)
As an infant, Elizabeth was promised to marry Count Ludwig of Thuringia (Central Germany), and she was sent to live in his father’s castle when she was four years old and he was ten.  As they grew up together, Ludwig fell more and more in love with her and they got married when he turned 21.

She was strikingly beautiful, with the kind of looks that really stood out in a crowd.  She was also extremely kind and generous. Her husband (the Count) was also very handsome, as well as patient and honest. Everyone loved him, subjects and nobles included.

After they were married Elizabeth passionately served the poor and sick. She fed at least 900 hungry poor people at her own castle every day, and had a hospital built at the foot of their castle-mountain where she would personally go and care for the sick and dying. Ludwig, unlike many other nobleman of that time, never tried to stop or discourage his wife from giving away his money.  He was confident that her virtue would bring God’s blessings upon his family and his people, and they grew closer as their marriage matured.  It seemed they had the perfect marriage.

But when Elizabeth was expecting their third child, Ludwig heard the Pope was sending the Emperor Frederick II on a crusade to the Holy Land. Ludwig joined the crusade and while he was away he died of the plague.  When Elizabeth heard the news she sobbed, “The world is dead to me, and all that was joyous in the world.” She was so devastated that she would run around the castle screaming and crying with grief.  Her in-laws could not deal with her in her grief-stricken state, so they cruelly kicked her out of the castle.

Elizabeth left her children at a relative’s house, joined an  order of Franciscans, and spent the remainder of her life in the full time service of Christ in his poor.  St. Elizabeth never thought of God’s gifts of royalty and wealth as something for herself, but rather as an opportunity for her to be more like Christ. Many other nobleman offered to marry her, but she refused.  She worked so hard for the sick and the poor that she wore herself out and died before turning 24. Immediately, people in her native Hungary began venerating her as a saint.

(source: www.catholic.net/saints)

in Faith & fortitude, he faced a firing squad, and lived…

St. Sebastion (entered heaven in 283 AD, his feast day is January 20)
We don’t really know how many thousands of Christians were put to death simply for believing in Jesus in the first few centuries after his resurrection. Sebastian was one of them. He was born into a noble family from Milan, Italy, and that is where he grew up.

Though he didn’t really like the idea of being in the Roman Army, he knew his physical abilities would enable him to have success as soldier, and that would help him conceal his identity as a Christian.  He was such a great soldier and had such success that he was selected to a very special military position: the emperors own guards.

He had a great amount of passion and burning love for Jesus. That was so obvious to everyone who heard him speak of his faith, and so he led many, many people to become Christians, including many Roman officials and nobles. He often encouraged condemned Christians not to give up their faith and to embrace the martyr’s death with grace. He sometimes healed people’s diseases as a sign of encouragement for them to accept the faith.

When it was finally discovered that Sebastian was a Christian, the emperor ordered that he be tied to a post and shot with arrows. But the story goes that when St. Irene came to bury him, he was still alive. As soon as he was healthy, he put on his uniform and went back to guarding the emperor. But the next time Sebastian saw him, he tried to convince the emperor to become Christian, too. This time the emperor had him beaten to death.

St. Sebastian was like a team captain for the early Catholics, because his strong speeches and coaching helped rally them around their faith. Career and ambition never mattered as much to to him as his his faith. He is the patron saint of athletes, soldiers, and archery.

(source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/)

Discussion questions:

Journal Writing

Debate

Some people say public figures like pro athletes should keep their beliefs to themselves and not push them on others. Split into two teams. One team, argues that Troy and Kurt should keep their beliefs to themselves and not push their ideas on others. The other team argues that Kurt and Troy have a right to free speech, and freedom of religion, and are doing a good thing by publicly professing their faith.

Activities:

1. Recently, Troy has become friends with a 12 year old girl named Heather who is very sick with Cancer. When he visits her, he never talks about himself or football, he just plays games with her and listens to her. Visit someone who is sick or elderly, or spend some time with someone who is old or sick in your family, and spend the whole time talking about them, what they think, what they feel, and try not to talk about yourself at all.
2. Some time in the next week, when your friends want you to hang out with them, decide instead to spend that time with your mom or dad, one of your brothers or sisters, or another family member. Practice putting family first!

Virtuous Verbiage Verification

Adversity – a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty

Character – moral or ethical strength; the principles and motives that control ones decisions and life

Faith – 1. Trust in God; 2. Personal relationship with God; 3. Belief in what God has revealed;  4. Faith is a supernatural virtue (a supernatural power). It is a power or virtue given to us in baptism.

Family – the most basic, primary, social structure, naturally consisting of a father, mother, and their children, where we learn first and most about life. For those whose families are tragically broken, their family may be a single parent or relatives. In a supernatural way, God makes a family out of a community, the Church, and even the human family.

Fidelity – constancy in keeping one’s given word. (CCC 2365)

Free Agent – A player who does not have a contract with a specific team for the next season

Greek Orthodox Christians – Christians who follow the beliefs, traditions, and rituals of the Eastern, or Byzantine, Catholic Church but are not in union with the Pope.

Humility – virtue which consists of knowing one’s own bounds and limits.

Legacy – something one leaves to a successor when they leave or die.

Responsibility – a form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for one’s conduct

Success – 1. the favorable or prosperous result of attempts or endeavors. 2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

Surrender – to give oneself up into the power of another