For the sake of those who did not see it, let me say Super Bowl 2016 was one of the greatest football games ever. Whenever the best teams meet in a championship match the fans get a treat. Throw into the mix Peyton Manning winning his 200th career game against a team that was virtually unbeatable and the word “Super” is well placed.
This year’s Super Bowl inspired a metaphor for courage. Consider Manning’s earlier season injury and his struggles in the regular season where in just 10 games he had a 59.8 per cent completion rate, his lowest season ever. Then we see his rise to victory in a new light.
Of course having a history of achievement helps. A five-time Most Valuable Player award winner, he is the only quarterback to ever win the Super Bowl for more than one team and he is the oldest quarterback to ever play in the Super Bowl, all of which help define his greatness.
A protagonist is always greatest when he has a worthy adversary. Peyton Manning was attacked by Panthers, smashed down, sacked, beaten relentlessly, and he still marched on to victory. He had good help; the best defense in the league. I saw a smaller player Chris Harris, who had been nursing a tender shoulder, knock a huge Philistine, or maybe it was a Panther, out of the play.
The Carolina Panthers should not be shedding tears after the Super Bowl game. Their 15-and-1 season is that of champions. Playing your heart out is a good metaphor for a follower of Christ. When you are fourth and 24 in your own end with two minutes left to play, you know the opposition is tough. You still reach down deep for that extra courage to carry on.
When it’s all over you say a thank you to the man upstairs, Manning said. Not a bad example of using the talents God gave you and striving to achieve the best you are capable of.
In our ordinary lives we often do not receive the accolades we have earned. I know parents who should be Most Valuable Player nominees. And how many times are we thrown for a loss in our daily struggles? That feeling of third and long is all too familiar.
The image of both quarterbacks having the ball stripped from their throwing arms with a force that could break bones was part of the game metaphor. You and I face sudden and crippling physical shortcomings that sideline us from the game; cancer surgery, heart attack or stroke? But we come back from injury and carry on as long as the coach has us in the game.
But we are assured of the ultimate success. “I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Let us then…continue on the same course” (Philippians 3:14-17).
It does not matter how long we play in the great game, or how many comebacks we achieve. We will one day hear those words that will cap off the victory in ways greater than the Super Bowl party ever could: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
