Although the NFL would prefer that I think about professional football 365 days a year, Good Morning Football didn’t capture my attention today the way it has for the past six months. The green and blue confetti has fallen. The yellow Gatorade bath has been poured. The Philadelphia Eagles have surrendered their title as Super Bowl champions to the Seattle Seahawks.
I’ve heard all the analysis — the questions about the Patriots’ offensive line, the praise for Seattle’s so-called “dark side” defense. But beyond the commentary and confetti, I’m left with two takeaways from Super Bowl LX that I'd like to share: one Scripture passage and one story.
My longtime friend and former colleague Kevin and I have attended hundreds — yes, hundreds — of sporting events together. Whenever the San Francisco Giants made the postseason, we found our way to at least one NLDS and one NLCS game. We used to joke that if the orange and black ever made it to the World Series, we’d rob a bank — whatever it took to get there.
Well, the Giants made it and won—three times in five years (2010, 2012, 2014). However, no banks were robbed. No World Series tickets were purchased. For all our bravado, neither of us made it to a single game of the Fall Classic.
I share this because when Super Bowl LX landed practically in our backyard, we toyed with the idea again. This time, the math was even more sobering — a bank robbery wouldn't cover the ticket price at Levi’s. Kevin declared he would only go if the Packers won the NFC. Since attending a Super Bowl has long been on my bucket list, I agreed to the terms. Of course I would love to see the Niners play, but I convinced myself the experience alone would be worth it. You can guess how this story ends...
I’m here to say that Kevin came up with a wonderful alternative: the Athletes in Action Super Bowl Breakfast.
Athletes in Action (AIA) is a "Christian sports ministry that works with athletes, coaches, and teams to explore the connection between faith, character, and competition." Each year, during Super Bowl weekend, AIA hosts this gathering of nearly 1500 people for the purpose of imparting one of the NFL’s most meaningful honors: the Bart Starr Award.
The Bart Starr Award is presented annually to the NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character, leadership on and off the field, integrity, and a deep commitment to family, teammates, and community. Unlike awards based purely on performance statistics, this honor recognizes the athlete both on and off the field. The 2026 recipient was none other than San Francisco running back, Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey's message was framed by two passages of scripture: Psalm 23 and Exodus 14:14. He spoke from the heart of how God's word had sustained him through disappointment, injury, doubt and dismay.
A graduate of Valor Christian in Denver, I had to wonder if his high school education familiarized him with the Bible in a way that I have not. I was unfamiliar with Exodus 14:14 but it spoke to me. It stayed with me. I wanted to share it with my own students, so I showed the video. I modeled how my students might pray with the Word and integrate its import into their own lives.
McCaffrey, a devout Catholic, was given the Bart Starr Award not simply for his excellence on the field, but for the consistency of his character, his servant leadership, and the way he lives his faith publicly and privately. In a week often defined by spectacle and commercialism, the breakfast offered a different kind of spotlight — one that celebrates the deeper story of who an athlete is beyond the game. In CMC's case, that is a man who is very grateful, faith filled and devoted to Christ.
The 49ers team owner, Jed York opened the 8:00 a.m. breakfast with humor, telling us he was willing to spend a lot amount of money to reconfigure the event into a lunch. After the laughter settled and the coffee kicked in, he shifted the tone and kept us leaning in.
York spoke about his 10-year-old son, who looks up to #23 in every possible way. There was unmistakable pride in his voice — not simply because one of his franchise players is talented, but because he is so much more than a player his son admires. He is a great teammate, a devoted son and brother, a loving husband and father. And as the breakfast revealed, he is a man of faith who strives to live by the Word.
For a young person searching for heroes, that kind of example matters.
The next post will feature the story...
