The Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII Sunday in Glendale, Arizona, and while there are numerous intriguing storylines accompanying the league’s biggest game, the two biggest stars are staying under center and giving credit to God and their faith for their success. A refreshing departure after years of on and off field distractions. Breitbart reports:
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gives God all the credit for his athletic success, insisting that he tries to keep his faith front and center.
“I’ve just matured and realized that God is everything and He’s worthy of praise,” Hurts declares. “You have to put Him at the center of everything that you do. That’s what I believe.”
“All my spiritual wisdom — all of my wisdom as a whole — comes from Him, in some way, shape or form, whether that be passed down from my father, my mother, my grandmother. I just think, in all the things that we experience in life — good, bad or indifferent — you have to keep Him in the center.”
“I think, being in this city, being the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and just having the opportunity to play the game I love most, in the best city of football, I just go out there every day and I am who I am, and I keep God in the center, I give Him all the praise, I lean on Him all the time, and I know that everything unfolds the way it’s supposed to.”
Jalen Hurts knows a thing or two about adversity. The path that has led him to the game’s biggest stage wasn’t easy. He transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma after falling out of favor with the Crimson Tide and proceeded to be first team All-Big 12 and a second-round pick of the Eagles in 2020.
His journey with Philadelphia hasn’t been easy either. Hurts struggled with inconsistency and accuracy and the team appeared to be unsure of his future as the starting quarterback. However, with faith and discipline Hurts made huge strides the last two seasons and is now on the precipice of a Super Bowl. Mahomes also gives all the credit to God for his journey. Breitbart continues:
“I mean, I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and let me be who I am for His name,” Mahomes said. “So it has a role in everything that I do, and obviously it will be on a huge stage at the Super Bowl that He’s given me and I want to make sure I’m glorifying Him while I do it.”
Following the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game on January 29, the 27-year-old quarterback also pointed to God as his source of strength and grounding.
“First of all, I wanna thank God, man,” he said immediately after the game, which involved playing with an ankle sprain. “He healed my body this week to battle through that. He gave me the strength to be out here.”
“As long as I’m doing everything the right way and the way that He would want me to do it, then I can walk off the field with my head held high and be able to be the man that I am,” he said at the time.
“I understand that He’s given me a lot of blessings in my life, and I’m trying to maximize them and glorify Him,” he added.
It is a compelling storyline having two openly Christian quarterbacks playing at the highest level and giving all of the glory to God. It hasn’t been that long ago that another famously open Christian, Tim Tebow, was being criticized and castigated for daring to show his faith and beliefs. The NFL has faced lots of criticism for its handling of social justice issues and distractions such as kneeling for the anthem, but having two good, God-centered men under center for the biggest game could help turn the tide and help more players speak out about God and their faith. Either way, it’s a win.
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