The Super Bowl is Life

That might sound a little "off"; like saying anything is life, outside of Jesus Christ. But, I don't mean it in that sense. I mean it in a way that the game played last night reminded me a lot about life. I probably should just have enjoyed the game for what it was: a close, great super bowl game. But, I tend to analyze things too much; and this is no exception. This year's super bowl is a picture of the reality of life:


1. The favorite and the underdog: Just like in the super bowl, each of us, depending on our background, opportunities, etc. are either expected to do well and win in life; or to struggle and be considered a loser. People "take bets" on who will be "successful" and who won't. The "favorite" must not listen to their supporters, or they might not succeed as expected. They cannot be too arrogant, or they will lose their focus. The underdog must not listen to the critics; but instead believe that God created each person to glory Him in amazing ways, regardless of the obstacles. This is life.



2. Life is short and long. The game does not actually last that long; and once over, we wonder where the season went; and we (real football fans) begin to look forward to next Fall, when football will begin again. The teams who did not win or even make the playoffs look ahead to the summer, as the process to become a super bowl team will begin again. But, on the other hand, this game seems to take "forever". The championship games were played 2 weeks ago; so everyone is just talking about the game for 2 weeks; and it dominates the sports talk for that time. Then, on game day, ESPN begins their coverage at 6:30 a.m! The pre-game show is 5 hours long, beginning at 1 p.m.; and the actual game has over 20 minutes of things to talk about and do before the actual kickoff. With the commercials and halftime, the game seems much longer than the normal game of the season. So is life. Sometimes it seems to "fly by", and we wish we could have a "do over"; but sometimes, life seems very, very long and tedious, with not much action. Each day seems the same; and we begin to wonder if it is ever going to end. This is life.



3. The distractions. The super bowl has tons of distractions. Some people don't even like football and only paticipate in super bowl Sunday because of the distractions: food, drink, friends, parties, commercials, half time show, etc. For the players, they are told constantly by the coaches about how to keep their focus on the game, with so many distractions for them the entire 2 weeks leading up to the super bowl, let alone the actual game day. Even watching the game, there are distractions for the fans: the pre-game festivities, the commercials throughout the game, including 3-D entertainment, the halftime show, and the post game festivities (although only a true football or super bowl fan, or extreme partier stays tuned to all of the post game stuff). It struck me that this life. We have many, many distractions from what God has called us to do on this Earth. Some of those distractions are innocent and fun and even good distractions; but others waste our time (and potentially our life) and can even be distructive. We start to indulge in what is offered and think that maybe God has not provided enough for me (in any area). It is a daily challenge to remember why we are here and to focus on honoring God today. This is life.

4. There are winners and losers. In this particular superbowl, everyone thought one team would win, before the game even started; and part way into the game, thought that team would win in a landslide. But things changed, and until a minute was left in the game, the underdog team seemed to have it won. But, in the end, one team lost and one team one; and depending on who people cheered for, millions of people today feel like they won or lost. Winning is enjoyable and fun; but losing just plain stinks. Such is life. In all areas of life, we experience winning and losing, and the consequences that come from either.

Conclusion: There are many similarities between the super bowl and life; and it is fun for me to think and write about them. But, there are a couple of distinct differences, which cannot be ignored. The super bowl is a game; and life is not. The super bowl is a fun game, and can be enjoyed by all; but it is a game, nonetheless. Life is real and we cannot play another game when this life is over. There is this life; and then there is the afterlife. We should enjoy our life that God has given us, but not at the expense of this reality and eternity. That is the other major difference: the super bowl is temporal and passes away; whereas we will last forever. When this life is over, we will spend eternity based on the decisions we made in this short life. I conclude with a chorus I learned as a boy; but the truth of it has never left me:

Only one life, how soon it will pass
Only what's done for Christ will last
Only one chance to do His good will
So, give to Jesus all your days
It's the only life that pays
When you recall you have but one life