Posted on 12/18/2008 10:14:10 AM PST by smokinleroy
CELINA -- One who says Celina football is like religion isn't all that far off the mark.
At the end of last Saturday's state semifinal playoff game against Liberty Hill, football players from both schools formed a circle at midfield, held hands, and recited the Lord's Prayer. And nobody blinked an eye about it.
Acts of faith such as this in a public-school setting is considered taboo in a lot of places. But not so in Celina, where players, coaches and fans talk openly about their Christianity and churches still outnumber gas stations by about a 4-to-1 ratio.
"In our community we stress God and Jesus very, very much, and I'm very thankful to live in a community like that," said senior running back Troy McCartney. "I've never lived anywhere else in my life, but people who move in say there's no other place like Celina. I'm very thankful to live where I live, have what I have and do what I do, and I just want to give all the glory and thanks to the Lord."
Religion and winning championships have gone hand-in-hand in Celina since the days of avuncular taskmaster G.A. Moore, who had considered entering the ministry before becoming the school's football skipper in 1972.
Moore, who retired in 2004 as the winningest coach in Texas history, always emphasized Christian values and sought to instill them in his charges. Occasionally, though, his staunch beliefs would lead to controversy.
In 1999, a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling banned the practice of public prayer before games, and the American Civil Liberties Union began monitoring Celina's use of it.
In defiance of the court ruling and the watchful eyes of the ACLU, Moore -- with the permission of the Celina school board and with encouragement from clergy within and from outside of town -- personally led a pre-game prayer before a home game against Denton Liberty Christian. A number of fans and students wore orange T-shirts that read "Celina Bobcats Pray Before They Play."
"I decided that somebody needed to take a stand, and that somebody needed to be me. I prayed about it, and I told the principal that I felt like somebody needed to lead the prayer, and since I didn't want anybody getting in trouble, it should be me," Moore later told the Houston Chronicle in a 2001 interview. "I told my coaches what I felt ... I needed to do, and if they arrest me, y'all are in charge.
"(It was) the only time in my life I thought I might go to jail, but, shoot, it was exciting. It was awkward, too, for a lot of people. But I made the decision, and I did what I felt I should do."
Of course, Moore never went to jail. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling, and Celina agreed to observe it.
A lot has changed in the eight years since, but Moore's long-time protege and successor, Butch Ford, continues his philosophy today.
"We preach it," Ford said. "When you get God to consider in your life, you're in pretty good shape. Good things happen. All I know is, He's allowed us to experience a lot of things this year. Not all of them were good. But without those experiences, I don't think we'd be where we are."
It's hard to argue with the results. After a rocky 4-3 start due to injuries and a tough schedule, the Bobcats have won eight games in a row, averaging exactly 50 points per game in the postseason to reach the state game for the fourth consecutive December -- and the eighth time in an 11-year span.
"Our goal (against Liberty Hill) was to play with the joy of the Lord in our heart so we'd play excited all of the time, and we wouldn't be down no matter what happened," Ford said. "We want our kids to play the game with joy. That was what we wanted to do, and I think we did a good job of that. We played up all of the time."
Balancing act
School officials everywhere walk a fine line when allowing students to express their faith without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the courts. This is no less true even in Celina.
Opposition to school-sponsored prayer is a bedrock principle for the ACLU, which argues that the First Amendment of the Constitution prohibits religious activities sponsored by public school systems.
"The ACLU believes that any program of religious indoctrination -- direct or indirect -- in the public schools or by use of public resources is a violation of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state and must be opposed," says its national board policy.
The policy states further that the ACLU "opposes the infusion of other types of religious practices and standards into the public schools. These include such practices as baccalaureate exercises in the form of religious services, prayer meetings at athletic events, the taking of a religious census of pupils ... and the profession of religious observance or belief as a consideration in the evaluation and promotion of teachers."
But since the 1999 dust-up over prayer at Celina, nobody else has ever voiced an objection over the school's activities, and the prayers continue.
"We do what we do, and one of these days something may happen where we can't do that," said Celina school board member Choc Christopher, who wasn't on the board during the 1999 incident.
"But until that happens, we've been rewarded for the things that we do. That's what the town wants, and that's what the town stands for."
Faith also unites the team and builds a high level of camaraderie in the Bobcat dressing room.
"We're all Christians on this team," said junior inside linebacker Caleb Lavey. "It helps us come together. We really get to know each other. I love everybody on my team. I play my heart out for each individual, and I expect the same for everyone else."
The Bobcats pray before and after every practice, and hold a team meeting and a devotional every Thursday night, followed by a team dinner.
Usually, Ford picks an assistant coach to lead the prayer before and after each practice, and normally a member of the team will lead an invocation before the Thursday get-togethers.
"I think it's one of the greatest things we do," Christopher said. "Our coaches are men of faith. Not only do they teach them about football, but also they teach them about life.
"I know the Lord doesn't bless us because we win, but I think He honors the things that we do. It's such a blessing to live in the town of Celina and have the kids be able to experience something like this."
One more game remains for McCartney and the other 17 seniors on the team. Perhaps it's appropos that they play that game under the hole in the roof at Texas Stadium -- to make watching easier for a certain entity, as the saying goes.
"Everything in life is not about winning," McCartney said. "It's about bringing glory and honor to the Lord, and that's what we plan to do. We want to win, and it's awesome to win, and we've been blessed very much. No matter what, win or lose, we're gonna say that prayer."
The Bible Belt - Keeping America’s Pants Up.
Meet you at the flag pole!
Prepare for rain.
Thank the Lord for small towns like this.
We took our first CHL class from some officers from Celina, they were great!
My fear is now that this is published some Islamist or Athiest from somewhere else in the near DFW area will move to Celina just to complain & file a lawsuit.
Any one that knows anything about football in Texas from high school to the Dallas Cowboys KNOWS it is religion.
Let the ACLU lawyers come in there and try to stop it. They’ll (hopefully) find themselves in shallow graves.
I attended over a dozen high school football games in Texas this year. Nearly every one began (and many ended) with a prayer by one or both teams. According to my son, if you didn’t see it out on the field it was because they pray in the locker room before coming out. Our Mom’s Club begins every game with a prayer right before game time on the field. We also gathered for prayer with the other team’s parents before playing our crosstown rival.
I watched them destroy Kaufman by 40+ points a few weeks ago. I sat on the Celina side and there were LARGE groups of families sitting together and enjoying a cold evening together. Excellent team.
Wow! An article from the Herald Democrat on FR! I read this article just this morning at my dad’s house. Good article ... God bless them and may He bring them a win tomorrow night.
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.