NFL player Matt Stover of the Indianapolis Colts

I’m a big fan of NFL football and so was eagerly anticipating this year’s Superbowl. I wasn’t disappointed as it was a great game and I’m thrilled that the Saints were able to pull off the upset. There was a lot of controversy and publicity leading up to the game regarding CBS’ approval to run a particular ad during the game.

Focus on the Family sponsored an add featuring Heisman Trophy Award winning superstar quarterback Tim Tebow and his mom – you can watch the ad here. In it Tim’s mom talks about how Tim was her miracle baby and how families have to face a lot of tough decisions. The ad itself is very tame by anyone’s definition. It really doesn’t say anything for or against abortion and it’s remarkable that so many pro-choice groups are upset that CBS aired it. How can anyone be upset with a mom saying she’s happy that she had her son?

Of course there’s a lot of subtext there as there is with what anyone says. What I’m impressed by is that Tim Tebow (a real superstar with a big future ahead of him) would be part of something that firmly stands for life.

In today’s culture people who make such stands are held up to ridicule and accused of being intolerant, hateful and judgmental. Taking such a stand also immediately seems to allow everyone else to dig into every part of your life and look for dirt. As if somehow not leading an absolutely perfect life with a perfect family negates a person’s right to have an opinion. How Sarah Palin has been treated is a prime example.

It should be noted too that it wasn’t that long ago that people were allowed to take stands – a lot more forcibly than we do today – and it was accepted (whether you agreed with them or not). Compare the Tebow’s ad with what the American Life League recorded back in 1989 with members of the 1987 Super Bowl champion New York Giants – link to the video here.

In it Mark Bavaro says: “At the end of the game, all the Giant players left the field champions. Now with the abortion death squads allowed to run rampant through our country, I wonder how many future champions will be killed before they see the light of day.” Talk about a strong statement.

There was another ‘statement’ made during this year’s actual Superbowl game that I was impressed with. Not a word was spoken but it was remarkable. Field goal kicker Matt Stover for the Indianapolis Colts (oldest player ever in a Superbowl game) attempted to kick a 51 yard field goal. It was close but he missed to the left.

After he missed he did an odd thing. He pointed to the sky in an obvious gesture of praising God. There are many players who do this after scoring a touchdown but I’ve never seen this after a miss. The commentators had to explain that Matt didn’t think he had made the kick but that as a religious man he always gave thanks whether he made the kick or not.

Wow. Talk about living your life by more than just words. In the face of a huge disappointment, in one of the biggest sporting events in the world, in the heat of the moment with all eyes on him, Stover still praised God. Amen.

- Blog by Andre van Heerden, Writer/Director at Cloud Ten Pictures