Jacksonville's Super Bowl a Marriage of Parties and Religion

AP ^ | 2/5/05 | Ron Word

[anniegetyourgun]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Links to places of worship are on the Web site of the Super Bowl Host Committee. Religious literature is being passed on streets to football fans. Several NFL players, instead of partying with Playboy bunnies and hitting nightclubs, are professing their faith at churches. In a town often said to be the buckle on the Bible belt, churches are taking unprecedented opportunities to get the gospel out to the 100,000 people who are in Jacksonville for Sunday's Super Bowl.

Just a year after Janet Jackson shocked the world with her halftime wardrobe malfunction, religion has moved into locker rooms and the NFL is giving its blessing to faith-based celebrations, such as concerts featuring Patti LaBelle and other events organized by various ministries.

"You are in town for the Super Bowl," Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antwaan Randle El told the crowd at Friday night's Super Bowl Gospel Celebration concert, "but you are here because of God."

The marriage of football and faith is creating a religious fervor unmatched in the River City since a four-day Billy Graham Crusade stop brought a quarter-million people to Alltel Stadium, site of this Super Bowl.

And while football's biggest weekend is about the scene for some players, it's about the spirit for others.

"Football gives me a platform," said Patriots tight end Ben Watson, who played in one game this season before a knee injury ended his rookie campaign. "There are people who would listen to me because I play the game of football. It gives me an incredible platform to influence people good or bad."

Added Oakland Raiders tight end Roland Williams: "Football is just something I do. I am definitely focused on a personal relationship with God."

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the Jacksonville Host Committee proposed faith-based activities "to reflect the spirit of the community" and noted it is the most religiously oriented Super Bowl venue ever.

The Host Committee's Web page lists the church services and addresses for hundreds of area churches, many of which have built events around the big game. The NFL, however, has been strict in deciding which activities to endorse.

"They had to be inclusive, rather than exclusive, and not promote one faith over another in an environment where everyone would be comfortable," McCarthy said.

One of the larger faith-based events built around the game, Saturday's Convoy of Hope, was not an NFL-sanctioned event.

"The convoy is an expression of Christian values. As an Episcopal priest, that's a good thing," said The Rev. Robert V. Lee, who leads faith-based initiatives for the Host Committee. "But the NFL will never get in a position where it is promoting one religion over another."

Garry Wiggins, pastor of Evangel Temple Assembly of God, said the Convoy of Hope - designed to help 25,000 people living in Jacksonville's public housing - is "God's Super Bowl party."

"We are not going out to proselytize people, but to serve people," Wiggins said.

The Rev. Tom Bary, pastor of Neptune Baptist Church, said the Super Bowl is a vehicle for his congregation to reach the masses. Members of his church are volunteering for duty in the pregame and halftime shows, working at the airport as greeters, and helping out at the NFL Experience - an interactive theme park.

"It's a great way to build bridges that can have eternal consequences," said Bary, 48, who estimated that about a tenth of his congregation of 1,600 are involved in Super Bowl activities.

And others were spreading the word by personal contact.

A cold drizzle and a biting wind were not enough to drive Junior Lofton from downtown Jacksonville, where he handed out religious tracts reading "Get on the Winning Team with Jesus" to Super Bowl partiers roaming the streets, many with beers and mixed drinks in hand.

Lofton, 63, said he was bringing the word of God to the masses, so he wasn't concerned about the cold.

"The churches have failed so far to carry the word out to the people," Lofton said, evangelism chairman for the Orange Heights Baptist Church. "We've got to go out among the whores and alcoholics. The fields are ripe for harvest."

The NFL's McCarthy said Super Bowl officials were hoping for a little divine inspiration when it came to the weather, which improved Friday after two days of rain and chilly weather. Forecasters say temperatures will be ideal for Sunday evening's kickoff, with temperatures around 60 degrees and mostly clear skies.

"The biggest faith-based initiative," McCarthy quipped, "is hoping it won't rain."

[Cedar]

Great article. Thanks for posting.

(BTW, how is Frank Butler doing these days? :)