It's great to read the stories of faith and football preceding today's Super Bowl. But almost lost amid all those tales from Tampa is another remarkable story of sports and spirituality, this one out of a small town in North Carolina.

More than 6,000 people showed up in Cary, NC, Friday for the funeral of Kay Yow, who had been the women's basketball coach at N.C. State University for 34 seasons before losing a two-decade battle to breast cancer last week at the age of 66.

Yow, a Hall of Famer, won over 700 games and coached the 1988 U.S. Olympic women's team to a gold medal. But that's not why thousands flocked to her funeral. They came en masse because she had touched so many lives by her kindness and a deep Christian faith.

Yow deemed her faith the most important thing in her life, so it's no surprise that she would want the gospel message preached at her funeral. But what was a surprise was that she gave the message herself in this 25-minute video, a remarkable, moving farewell recorded some time before her death.

After describing heaven as a place of no more tears or pain, a smiling Yow said in the video, "I am saying to you now, rejoice, because I am now in a wonderful location with my heavenly Father."

She also said, "I don't want you to fret over the fact that I'm not here or question why I'm not here. Because God knows what he's doing. He doesn't make mistakes. ... I have now a place in heaven with him.''

Yow went on to give her testimony about coming to Christ as a young coach, telling several stories, and concludes by sharing the gospel via the "Romans Road," sharing verse-by-verse how to become a Christian.

Her message apparently had a big effect on those attending the funeral.

"Obviously I don't think there was a person in that room that wasn't touched and probably affected by her words,'' Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt said. "I have never known of a service like this. And it would be just like Kay to be the absolute first.''

I first met Kay Yow in 1978 as a 19-year-old sportswriter at The Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Virginia, where I covered women's basketball. Even at that first meeting--a post-game interview--it was clear there was something about Coach Yow that made her different: A kind and gentle spirit you didn't often see in the cut-throat atmosphere of big-time college basketball. She was competitive, of course, and wanted to win every game. But for her, relationships meant more than anything. She often told younger coaches that they could be friends first, competitors second.

I'll be planted on the couch this evening in front of the Super Bowl just like everybody else, taking note of all the players and coaches in the game who have talked about their faith. But at the same time, I'll be remembering one of the classiest coaches, at any level, that I ever met.

Rest in peace, Kay.

(Yow also discussed her faith with FCA's Sharing the Victory a couple years ago here.)

Posted by Mark Moring at February 1, 2009 | Comments (3)

A YouTube hit portraying President Obama as an unborn child was rejected by NBC for a Super Bowl advertisement, The Washington Times reports.

Fidelis, a Chicago-based Catholic organization, premiered the 30-second ad on January 20 on Black Entertainment Television, Julia Duin writes.

Brian Burch, president of Fidelis, said NBC originally responded with a proposal for a package including ads on NBC-owned or operated stations in the country's top 10 markets plus an additional four cities for a price tag of $1.5 million to $1.8 million. The immensely popular football game is known for the unusual and trendy kinds of ads it attracts.

"We put out the call to our members and large pro-life benefactors who told us they would put up significant dollars to make this happen," Mr. Burch said. "I was told the ad was approved and then there were a number of attorneys working on it. Then I was told they didn't want to run political or advocacy ads."

The ad opens with an ultrasound. "Despite the hardships he will endure, this child will become," a voice-over says as a photo of Obama comes on the screen, "the first African American President."
"Life. Imagine the Potential," the caption concludes.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at January 30, 2009 | Comments (13)

We've come a long way since the days when only clowns brought John 3:16 to football stadiums.

At last night's BCS championship game, Tim Tebow changed the Scripture reference on his eye black. It had been Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Last night it was John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Florida quarterback accomplished more than one goal last night: Google Trends says John 3:16 is currently the hottest search term.

Posted by Ted Olsen at January 9, 2009 | Comments (7)

Asked by a reporter about handling the pressure of playing in a national championship football game, University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow had an unexpected answer:

"Pressure is not having to win football games," he said. "Pressure is having to find your next meal."

So goes a recent story from The Boston Globe, one of many stories highlighting Tebow's Christian faith and experience on the missions field. He was born in the Philippines as a missionary kid, and returned there -- as well as other Third World countries -- numerous times.

Tebow and the Gators take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS title game, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern in Miami. Fox will carry the game live.

Not only will the game feature the top two teams and two of the best three offenses in the nation, but the last two winners of the Heisman Trophy; Tebow won it in 2007, and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford in '08.

While Tebow's faith has been in the news for some time (see these stories, for example), but Bradford, with his recent Heisman win, is now becoming more well-known. As Sports Spectrum put it: "Tebow’s story is known nationally. Bradford’s faith in Christ is well known in Oklahoma."

Both young men join other college football stars in sharing their faith via video testimony at Beyond the Ultimate, a website sponsored by Athletes in Action, a Christian sports ministry.

Posted by Mark Moring at January 8, 2009 | Comments (5)

TIME recently highlighted its "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch." As Olympic coverage cranks up, you'll be hearing more and more about them, although current reports seem mostly to have to do with the athlete's ages, injuries, and drug use.

Press agency AMP is working with the USOC and NBC to highlight other aspects of the athletes' lives. They've told CT about a number of confessing Christians among the American athletes most likely to medal. A large proportion of them mention Philippians 4:13 in interviews and on their blogs: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Allyson Felix, a sprinter, has a section about her faith on her blog that says, "If we can help you with your faith journey, and help you learn more about God, contact us." She's also one of the few athletes involved in USADA's Project Believe, which puts athletes through extensive drug testing. She wants everyone to know she's clean. After all, she's being compared to Marion Jones as well as Wilma Rudolph.

Tyson Gay has made a lot of news, for his hamstring injury, for being dubbed "Tyson Homosexual" by American Family Association's autoreplace, and now for being exceptionally polite. "When I raise my hands in the air it is to give God praise," he told a fan on Ask Tyson.

Prison guard and world marathon champion, Catherine Ndereba, aka Catherine the Great, is also on TIME's list as a Kenyan athlete to watch. This year's civil unrest in Kenya made training a lot scarier than it had been before, but Ndereba is back to winning again. Just over a week ago, she placed first in New York City's half-marathon.

Mark, Diana, and Steven Lopez are siblings competing in taekwondo. Their coach is their older brother. They all blog at First Family of Taekwondo. Diana says their parents always encouraged them to pray frequently and thank God in all things. The Lopezes attribute their interest in taekwondo, as well as their faith, to their parents: their father was a huge fan of kung-fu.

Jamaica-born Sanya Richards is "the youngest woman ever to break the elusive 49-second barrier at 400 meters," according to her website. She says her aunt is the person who encouraged her most to attend church regularly, something she had not done in Jamaica. There is speculation over whether her Behcet's Syndome - a disease she was diagnosed with last year - will flare up.

Marathoner Ryan Hall and his wife say that they're considering missions after the Beijing Games. But for now, they're concentrating on the Olympics and enjoying a life Hall says is a lot like retirement. Except with lots and lots of running. Hall speaks more about his faith on GodTube, his Runner's World blog, and to Today's Christian.

Decathlete Bryan Clay told Christianity Today about his involvement in Project Believe: "A huge reason why I haven't even been tempted to take drugs or do anything of that sort is because I realize that winning is not my life, it's not my identity. I know that God has me doing what I'm doing, I know that yes I can win, I also know that I'm not going to win all the time and I know that either way, win or lose, that God is going to provide for me."

Donny Robinson is one of the athletes competing in BMX racing, which is new this year to the Olympics. "Most people I'm around know that I try to live the most Christ-like life I can, and they accept what I represent," Robinson says.

Laura Wilkinson says she was on a diving platform on national television when she "asked God to forgive me for following my own path, and I gave my life back to Him." Beijing will be her third Olympics. She is one of the proud athletes who have been featured on a Wheaties box.

Swimmer and member of Catholic Athletes for Christ Kate Ziegler isn't on TIME's list, but as the world record holder in a distance swimming event, she's likely to get some mention.

NBCOlympics.com and TeamUsa.org have more about the athletes and other Olympic news, as well as information on events and schedules.

Posted by Susan Wunderink at August 5, 2008 | Comments (6)

David Brooks writes in his column today about a book called The Mental ABC's of Pitching by H.A. Dorfman, a sports psychologist. Dorfman, Brooks says, attempts to teach pitchers to focus, "to liberate people from what you might call the tyranny of the scattered mind."

While some advocate free expression and limitless "creativity", Dorfman believes:

Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear - and doubt.

Discipline, however doesn't just come from trying. It comes from building structures that build behaviors. Practice forms routines, which form habits. And habit shapes the mind. "If a player disciplines his behavior, then he will also discipline his mind." For a pitcher, this means practice, obviously, but it also means paying attention only to the job of throwing a baseball. "A pitcher shouldn't judge himself by how the batters hit his pitches, but instead by whether he threw the pitch he wanted to throw."

Brooks writes, "By putting the task at the center, Dorfman illuminates the way the body and the mind communicate with each other. Once there were intellectuals who thought the mind existed above the body, but that's been blown away by evidence. In fact, it's easiest to change the mind by changing behavior."

And here, finally, we find our spiritual analogue. Faith, belief, and trust in a God who is invisible to our senses is tough work, kind of like striking out an all-star hitter. With the noise of the fans, the signs from the catcher, the lessons from the coach playing through the mind, it's too much. For me, with the daily commute, the constant deadlines, the needs of a family, I'm shackled by the tyranny of the scattered mind. God is there, oh yes, but there are so many more pressing things. Life is hyperlinked, and I never complete one thing before moving to the next.

But then there is church. Those two hours once a week. Mine is by no means liturgical, but the routine is there, the faces are there, the words are there. And those actions shape my mind, my spirit.

Posted by Rob Moll at April 1, 2008 | Comments (0)

Churches will be able to host big-screen Super Bowl parties in 2009 thanks to the NFL's reversed decision this week.

The NFL had received criticism for its decision, and the Washington Post reported that churches were canceling their Super Bowl parties out of fear of lawsuits. In a later Post story titled "Bill Would End Separation of Church and Super Bowl," three congressmen spoke with the Post about potential legislation.

The Post reports that the NFL will allow church showings as long as the showings are free and are on premises that the church uses on a "routine and customary" basis.

The NFL restricts TV screens to 55" at public viewings, except at bars and restaurants that regularly broadcast sporting events. Last year, the NFL sent letters to two churches advising them of the policy. The new policy will be set in place for 2009.

CT also wrote about NFL/church dispute in "Fumbling Religion" last fall.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at February 22, 2008 | Comments (0)

Religion, he feels, is the main source of his strength, and because he realizes not everybody shares that feeling today, he sometimes refers to "the challenge of being in the minority in the world." ... "I don't try to be overbearing in what I believe, but, given a chance, I will express my beliefs."

If I told you that line was in reference to a star athlete, I wouldn't imagine you could guess whom. A number of sports stars, and journeymen, come to mind when I think of faith and basketball or baseball or football. And afflicted-minority syndrome is increasingly popular with Christians in America today.

But, surprisingly, I came across those lines last night in John McPhee's "A Sense of Where You Are," the profile he wrote more than 40 years ago of basketball great Bill Bradley, a white man of not-so-humble means who was educated at Princeton, the citadel of the American Presbytery. Hardly a typical minority.

This article was cross-posted at The God Blog.

Posted by Brad Greenberg at February 13, 2008 | Comments (0)

Despite his inability to find the old coaching magic that led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl crowns from 1982-91, Joe Gibbs will always be remembered as one of the classiest guys to ever grace an NFL sideline.

Gibbs, a devout Christian, announced his retirement Tuesday as the Redskins head coach and president, just three days after Washington lost its first-round playoff game at Seattle. His decision, with one year left on a five-year contract, stunned the team.

In a press conference at Redskins complex, Gibbs said that family commitments - including a 3-year-old grandson being treated for leukemia - led to his decision.

"My family situation has dramatically changed [in recent years]," Gibbs said. "The only way to do this job [as an NFL coach] is to go after it night and day; it takes every minute. Having weighed that . . . I felt like with my family, the most important thing I'll leave on this earth are my kids, grandkids, and the influence I have on others. I felt like my family needed me."

(Watch Gibbs' Tuesday afternoon announcement at Redskins.com.)

It was a difficult season for Gibbs and the team, who struggled on and off the field - especially with the November murder of defensive star Sean Taylor - before rallying for four straight wins to make the playoffs. Alas, the playoff loss to Seattle ended what many had hoped would be a "Hollywood ending" for the team from the nation's capital.

Gibbs, 67, has a dual reputation as a committed family and as a hard worker who spent long hours at the team complex - away from his family - during the season. But his retirement clearly shows he has decided to put family first.

"It was the toughest (season) for me," Gibbs said Monday, a day before announcing his retirement. "When you go through a season like that, for a while it's hard to regrasp reality."

The reality was that in the last four years - his second stint as the Skins' skipper - Gibbs was unable to lead the team to the dominance it had enjoyed in his first stint from 1981-92, when Washington went 124-60 and won Super Bowls in 1982, '87, and '91. Gibbs retired in 1992 to turn his attention to auto racing, where he co-owns a team featuring NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Gibbs vowed to never return to the NFL, and in 1996, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Redskins floundered for years as owner Dan Snyder went through six coaches and hundreds of players in search of a winning formula. Snyder ultimately turned back to Gibbs in 2004, offering $27.5 million and for a five-year deal to coax him out of retirement. Gibbs signed on, and while the team improved in the last four years, they never regained their dominance of the 1980s, going 31-36 and 1-2 in the playoffs.

But as a longtime Redskins fan, I know that the "reality" for Gibbs involved more than just numbers. He will be remembered not just as a great coach, but as a terrific leader and mentor to his many players over the years. Yes, they'll remember how he made them better football players. But they'll also remember how he made them better men.

Mark Moring grew up in Virginia, where it's almost mandatory to be a Washington Redskins fan. He is editor of ChristianityTodayMovies.com.

Posted by Susan Wunderink at January 8, 2008 | Comments (0)

You can find all sorts of summaries of the baseball steroid scandal, but one commentary on it is worth commenting on. It is by Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune entitled "Some of us still are here to talk about past."

Morrissey got it basically right. George Mitchell, the head of the investigation, said, "A principal goal of this investigation is to bring to a close this troubling chapter in baseball's history and to use the lessons learned from the past to prevent the future use of some substances. While that requires us to look back, as this report necessarily does, all efforts should now be directed to the future."

Morrissey replies, "Some of us would like to linger awhile at the scene of the crime."

His instincts are good. We cannot fathom who we are today or what we are to become without an understanding of our past. We live in an age that wants to move forward, get on with solutions. But there is no forward without looking back.

But I wonder if Morrissey goes far enough. He finally agrees with Mitchell: "It does no good to punish players now for past sins."

I'm not sure, first, if there are any other types of sins but past sins. And if there are no consequences, well, what's to prevent another scandal in the future?

Second, I not sure we can ever "put this all behind us" without various people actually stepping forward, acknowledging their wrongdoing or negligence, and apologizing. The shorthand term is "repentence," but it's a notion that goes unmentioned in any of the accounts I've read so far.

And while Morrissey is quick to point the finger elsewhere--quoting Mitchell, who said that "commissioners, club officials, the players association, the players" all shared responsibility--nowhere in the column is there a clear indication of the role the sports media played in the cover-up.

Only a full accounting, including a few personal apologies and some substantive consequences, is really going to bring healing and hope to baseball. Mitchell is a bit confused about what an investigation can do. It can bring problems to light. But it is not something that by itself can "bring closure." A partial accounting, without repentance or consequences, will simply leave an open, sore wound for decades to come.

That being said, it is nonetheless a healthy sign that major league baseball has done as much as it has. Better late and partial than never.

Posted by Mark Galli at December 14, 2007 | Comments (0)

Hunter Smith, punter for the Indianapolis Colts, will sing on Gospel Music Channel tonight before Sunday's highly anticipated Colts/New England Patriots showdown. He might want to sing some prayers because it looks as though the Colts will be the underdogs this week.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was born and raised a Colts' fan in Indianapolis so I have my biases. But CT Movies Editor Mark Moring describes the Colts/Patriots showdown as "Christians vs. the bad guys." Maybe it's because he admires Tony Dungy. Let's be honest: who can't help but love the guy? This, compared to the Patriot's coach, who was fined $500,000 after a Patriots video assistant was caught by NFL security filming the New York Jets' defensive signals. Wide receiver Randy Moss is no favorite either.
So I'm not the only one who thinks it could be good vs. evil.

In the meantime, if you don't know what to do with your time until the big game, consider re-reading CT's past football coverage.
Why We Love Football | Grace and idolatry run crossing patterns in the new American pastime.
Fumbling Religion? | When it deals with Christians and churches, the NFL doesn't always have a good game plan.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at November 2, 2007 | Comments (2)

From Vick's statement after pleading guilty: "Dog fighting is a terrible thing, and I did reject it. I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now."

Posted by Ted Olsen at August 27, 2007 | Comments (42)

A Sam Smith sports column in today's Chicago Tribune has sparked a thought that might help Christians slow down big injustices. It seems that a few teams have figured out how to defense mammoth, domineering big menf like Shaq. You do it with quickness--the defender must antipate the big man's move, step immediately in his path, establish his position, fall backwards when contacted by the big man, and so draw a charge. Foul on the big man. Enough fouls, and the big man sits on the bench--at least until the next game.

Christians activists are up against some pretty mammoth, domineering social injustices, and they are constantly getting beaten by them. I'm wondering if quick footedness leading to a charge--which usually requires the defender to flop backwards, feigning inappropriate contact--would constitute a social foul. Enough of those, and maybe the public would ask the social justice to sit on the bench. At least for awhile.

I'll let others speculate how exactly this applies to social injustices. But my intuition tells me there is something for us to learn in this style of basketball defense. It's helped the Chicago Bulls nuetralize Shaq. Not that Shaq is a great social injustice--though a Bulls fan might think so.

Posted by Mark Galli at April 24, 2007 | Comments (2)