Last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday. Did you watch the big game? So, what’s so “super” about Super Sunday?
Super Bowl
This game is described as “the biggest single event in U.S. sports with a huge global audience.” This year it was played in New Orleans (Louisiana) appropriately at the “Caesar’s Super-dome” (home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints). This massive stadium has a capacity of 83,000 and it was full.
Super Bowl 2025 drew almost 128 million TV viewers. In addition to the game, many look forward to the halftime show which features top celebrities. This “musical extravaganza” is billed as one of the most coveted slots on the U.S. music scene and this year featured Grammy-winning hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar.
Tickets to the Super Bowl are not cheap. The cheapest was around $6,600 with the average ticket costing $9,500 (I’m sure Taylor Swift got in for free). This year a 30-second commercial spot cost around $8 million.
The Kansas City Chiefs won the last two Super Bowls and were favoured for a “three-peat”. Instead, the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the game and soared to a 40-22 victory.
Super hype
So, why the hype? French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, wrote, “There is a God-shaped void in every human soul and only God can fill it.” Scripture affirms that we are “made in God’s image” (see Genesis 1:27) and wise King Solomon taught that God has “placed eternity” in the human heart (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).
So, when people push God to the sidelines (good football idiom) of their lives, there remains a void or vacuum. Nature abhors a vacuum. Something (or someone) must fill it. Humans search desperately to fill that space in an attempt to give their lives some meaning or purpose.
Many turn to some form of entertainment such as sports. They don’t just become a fan; they become a fanatic! They “eat, drink and sleep” their sport and their team. If their team wins, they’re euphoric. If it loses, they’re depressed. Without meaningful hope in their life, they resort to hype.
Super Saviour
I was encouraged to learn of several Christian players on both teams in this year’s Super Bowl. Star Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is a believer. He once said, “Faith is huge for me... Before every game, I walk the field and I do a prayer at the goalpost. I just thank God for those opportunities and I thank God for letting me be on a stage where I can glorify Him. The biggest thing that I pray for is that whatever happens, win or lose, success or failure, that I’m glorifying Him.” When a player like Mahomes loses (like he did last Sunday), he’s disappointed but not crushed because God (not football) is at the centre of his life.
Eagles’ winning quarterback, Jalen Hurts, is also a believer. When interviewed after the game, he began by saying that God is good and had been with him and his team through all the ups and downs of the past season. And Eagles’ head coach, Nick Sirianni, made a similar comment. Holding his young son in his arms with his wife at his side, he thanked God and Jesus for this special moment in his life and career.
These men were all pointing to someone greater than themselves or their sport. The word “super” simply means “above” and Scripture reveals to us someone who is above everyone else. “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (see Philippians 2:9-11)
Because of their “super Saviour”, every Sunday can be a “super Sunday” for believers to worship their risen, living and life-changing Lord. And that’s true hope, not hype.
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor who enjoyed watching the game.
