| Gridiron Heroes aka The Victory Song of the Detroit Lions Click this link right here for Music and Then Sing (or Shout) These Lyrics |
Posted on 10/02/2007 9:27:07 AM PDT by rintense
This is what passes for a wild postgame party at Jon Kitna's house.
As midnight nears, Detroit's quarterback sits at his kitchen table picking at a container of leftover pasta salad. The kids are asleep. Worn out after an emotional overtime game at Ford Field, they stayed awake just long enough to wash off the crosses painted on their cheeks. Everyone else is still up, wired and giddy from Kitna's self-proclaimed "miracle" comeback against Minnesota.
After missing half of Detroit's Sept. 16 game with a mild concussion, Kitna returned in the fourth quarter to gut out a 20-17 win. Then he fell to his knees on top of the Lions' midfield logo and linked hands with teammates and foes in a postgame prayer circle. Now, inside the Kitnas' massive cut-stone home in suburban Detroit, wife Jennifer eats homemade ice cream while Jon's mom, Fay, celebrates with a bowl of cornflakes.
Meanwhile, the QB monitors his two-way pager as it vibrates with incoming messages like "Miracles do exist" and "You and the Lions are so very blessed." Kitna and a visitor then begin a loud, verse-quoting joust about the Bible's stance on men with long hair. It's easy to predict Kitna's position: Whenever he bows his head to pray, he also rubs concentric circles into the buzz cut atop his head with his left hand, almost subconsciously.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
I hope that's my legacy at the end, that 20 people gave their lives to Christ because of me.
What a good guy, former Seahawk and native Washingtonian from Tacoma of all places. God bless him and his family!
A good guy from Tacoma ping.
Ditto.
Nice article. It is good to see that he’s acting as a leader in the locker room, getting rid of the poisonous Millen-inspired atmosphere there.
The rest of the article is interesting in that it addresses what happens when Christian coaches or leaders take the lead with their faith in a sports culture with more and more Muslims....
Jon Kitna was undervalued by Holmgren in Seattle when he led them to a playoff berth, only to have Holmgren let him go after that season. He then came to Cincinnati, I suspect because Holmgren’s rep releasing him indicated ‘damaged goods’ more than anything else (Cincy was NFL Siberia at the time).
All he did was take a horrible team to 8-8, and end up Comeback Player of the Year.
This year, he predicted the Lions would win ten games, and was mocked everywhere. Today, that looks like he underestimated.
Through it all, he’s been very open about his faith. He’s been a great teammate, and team player, as anybody in Cincy can tell you.
I couldn’t be happier for the guy...even though he does whine to the officials way too much during the games.
I read the entire article.
God bless this man!
Wow. What a story. Awesome. And isn’t your post The Truth.
Now, as to the football side of me . . . who were those malcontents that got weeded out after last year in Detroit? Sure hope my team didn’t pick any of them up.
I hope to impact one person...any beyond that number, would be due to the Lord and not due to anything I do or say.
I picked the Loins to make the playoffs—probably as wild card team—in the pre-season and I haven’t seen anything that changes my mind. I think they have significant defensive holes, but they will just outscore many teams in the NFC. Except Dallas, of course.
| Gridiron Heroes aka The Victory Song of the Detroit Lions Click this link right here for Music and Then Sing (or Shout) These Lyrics |
Jason Hanson was my kids Sunday school teacher in Spokane where he lives in the off season. Very nice man!
I'm sure most Cincinnati sports fans are behind Kitna 100% ... he's a fine person, an excellent QB and a credit to the NFL. He helped turn the Bengals around and unselfishly tutored Carson Palmer his understudy ... who eventually replaced him. I'm not a Lions fan but knowing Kitna is their QB I hope they make it to the playoffs.
All of these players were toxic to the team. There was even rumors that Shawn Rogers would be traded because of his attitude but he has seen the writing on the wall.
I fine with Kitna loving God and all, but don’t for a minute think the Lions are going to beat the Skins this weekend. God loves the Redskins.
The cynical side of me is just waiting for the Muslim population in Dearborn to be offended by Kitna's ball caps.
I’m sure most Cincinnati sports fans are behind Kitna 100% ... he’s a fine person, an excellent QB and a credit to the NFL. He helped turn the Bengals around and unselfishly tutored Carson Palmer his understudy ... who eventually replaced him. I’m not a Lions fan but knowing Kitna is their QB I hope they make it to the playoffs.
No doubt about it.
Sad, but true. You know it's only a matter of time.
I am Happy to see Kitna having success in Detroit. BTW, he kicks ass as a QB in Madden 2008 (as well as previous years) too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.