A football fanatic I am not, but like most boys growing up in the ‘60s, I easily gravitated to the sport.
On many a fall afternoon after school as well as on Saturdays, my brothers and I gathered other kids in the neighborhood for a rousing game of football. We played either in our small backyard or went down the street to an “island” in the road created by the convergence of three streets.
Lincoln Elementary organized Gray-Y football and when initial practices began in the fall of my 6th grade year, I wanted to play! I was a wiry kid and was OK at quarterback, but I really liked catching passes. Problem was, I didn’t know the names of the different positions. All I knew was that receivers are on the end of the line, so when the coach asked what position I wanted to play, I didn’t know to say, “Wide receiver,” and instead said, “Um, end?”
So he stuck me at the end on the offensive line—at the tight end position.
These days, if you’re up on football players and think “tight end,” names like Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce come to mind—big guys who can handle those defensive linemen who desperately want to sack the QB for a loss.
Big guy I was not. And when the coach stuck me on the offensive line next to the tackle and right across from a much bigger defensive end, I instinctively knew I volunteered for the wrong position.
Within 2 seconds of the first snap of the ball, I was lying on my backside. No better on the second snap.
The coach knew, too. In my probably jaded opinion many years later, I don’t think he was a very good coach. Rather than make adjustments to find a niche for a wiry guy who could catch the ball, he left me flounder on my backside in the schoolyard dust.
And so ended my experience with organized football.
But I still loved the game. Somehow, even though we lived a couple of hours from Cleveland, Ohio, I became a Minnesota Vikings fan. Makes no sense, really. We never lived there, had no relatives there, didn’t know anyone from there.
Perhaps I became enamored with the “Purple People Eaters”—the affectionate nickname for the Vikings’ defensive line, a huge burly group of men who seemed to gobble up offensive linemen (perhaps the hero for defensive end that kept sending me to my backside was Carl Eller!).
Given my penchant for quarterback, most likely I was impressed by Vikings’ quarterback Joe Kapp. When I was 10, he led the team to their first playoff appearance (which they lost to the Colts, who subsequently lost to the Joe Namath-led Jets). The next year, though, Kapp led the team to a 12-2 season, defeated the Cleveland Browns for the NFL Championship, and landed in the Super Bowl (which, of course, they lost).
After Joe Kapp, Fran Tarkenton took over as the Vikings’ QB, and my loyalty became fixed. Have been a Minnesota fan ever since.
Admittedly, my fanaticism has waned significantly since a lad of 12. I rarely watch a game and usually just check the scores to see how the team’s doing.
But there was some drama with the team over the last couple of weeks that caught my attention. On October 29, they played big rival Green Bay Packers, and the Vikings’ QB Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Apparently, he’s been doing very well this season, and this was quite a blow. Especially considering the backup QB is in his rookie year.
So, the big question was whether the backup could handle the position for the rest of the season. Even if he could, the team needed some depth in case he got injured.
The Vikings went shopping and found an available QB—Joshua Dobbs—technically a backup for the Arizona Cardinals. They worked out a deal on Monday…his first game as a Viking was in six days.
But he didn’t start. The rookie started the game against the Atlanta Falcons—started, but didn’t finish. He left the game almost immediately with a concussion and in came Dobbs.
I didn’t watch the game, but did check the score on my phone—as expected, they were losing, but not by much. There was a chance.
In the end, Minnesota scored the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left in the game—an incredible come-from-behind victory given the circumstances. Dobbs, it was reported, didn’t know the names of most of his teammates…hadn’t taken a snap…passed to a receiver…. Yet he led the team with three touchdowns.
But it wasn’t all one guy. That’s the important message head coach Kevin O’Connell wanted to make sure the team got after the game. In the locker room, he made a point to call out several players who made notable contributions, including Joshua Dobbs, but also emphasized the victory was possible only because every player on the team did his job!
Probably because I watched a video summary of the game and a YouTube video of O’Connell’s post-game speech, a “recommended video” popped up of another Vikings’ comeback victory. Turns out it was the greatest comeback in NFL history—last season against the Indianapolis Colts.
At the end of the first half, the Colts were very comfortably leading 33-0. Pretty hopeless for the Vikes.
But at halftime, two points were emphasized in the Vikings locker room.
“Everyone do your job!”
“One play at a time!”
Near the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was 36-7.
With 11 minutes left in the game, it was 36-21.
With 3 ½ minutes left, 36-28.
By the 2-minute warning, Minnesota tied it at 36 apiece…and regulation ended in a tie.
And with 3 seconds left in overtime, the Vikings’ placekicker drilled a field goal to win the game 39-36!
The most improbable victory won only because of the total team effort of every player executing his job to the best of his ability.
Now, I don’t want to over-spiritualize the game of football, and definitely don’t want to contribute to the idolizing of sports, but there are some important connections to be made between those two great comeback victories and the local church.
Every Christian should be a “team player” member of a church—not a mere spectator. Too many churches today seem to create an entertainment environment where it’s too easy to show up on Sunday morning and watch a handful of people “perform.”
That’s not what the Lord of the church intends.
If there’s an analogy to the quarterback, it would likely be those gifts to the church mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, stating that the Owner/General Manager/Head Coach Jesus Himself…
…gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.
And he gave these “team leaders” to the church, not to entertain an audience, but…
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ….
The victory for the “church team” is not counted in points on a scoreboard, but instead is measured by how firmly the team holds to the doctrine, remains unified around that doctrine, expresses love toward one another, and grows into a well-functioning body with everyone doing his or her part:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
— Ephesians 4:15-16
Whether or not we play or follow some organized team sport, as followers of Jesus, we’re all supposed to be active members—team players—contributing to a local-church “team”victory.
By the way, Joshua Dobbs, like Kirk Cousins, is a committed Christian. In several places, I’ve read that he has spoken about the most important day in his life by saying,
“That’s the day I got baptized and went public with the decision of shedding my old life and putting on the new and starting a relationship with Jesus Christ.… The day will come that I won’t be a part of any football team. But the decision I made during my sophomore year in high school — to be a part of Team Jesus — I’ll be a part of that team for the rest of my life, and for all eternity.”
Dobbs is echoing Cousins who remarked,
“Football will one day end. Life is based on much more than football. But one thing that can’t be taken from me is my personal relationship with Jesus.”
I hope you’re part of that team!
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