America is a deeply divided, fractured, splintered nation. Our politics has never been more splintered than it is today. Our own denomination is more tribal and less united than it has ever been, for a number of reasons.
It is a breath of fresh air, then, when something unites us as Baptists and as Americans. We can rejoice and give thanks for that, even if it is only a brief and fleeting unity. This weekend, Americans will come together, ever so briefly, uniting to against one of the greatest evils of our generation, the New England Patriots. As one, we hope that they will go down to ignominious defeat in Super Bowl LX. Rich and poor, people of all ages, races, from all parts of the country, we join hands – Democrats and Republicans, ICE agents and Antifa protesters, Calvinists and all stripes of non-Calvinists – to cheer for the Seattle Seahawks. This kind of unity is a rare thing.
Of course, we recognize that the Deflator-in-Chief is gone, and we can all give thanks for that. Voldemort Belichick is also gone, failing miserably in the college ranks, instead of bending the rules in the NFL. Still, the stench of their years in Foxborough has not fully dissipated.
We cannot let our cheering be muted because of the failure of the Seahawks to run the ball the last time they had the chance to slay the dragon from New England. Pete Carroll is gone now and sometimes we have to choose the lesser of two evils when the greater evil is as great an evil as this great evil.
People of goodwill understand that Boston is the vortex of evil for sports. It is a truly great city but its sports are uniformly abominable. The Celtics are the bete noire of the NBA and decent people everywhere fine the Red Sox offensive, right? Of course, the stain the Patriots have left on the NFL and on this nation this century is hard to calculate.
So, this Sunday, America will unite and hold out hope that truth, justice, and the American way will prevail. In victory, we will rejoice, but the unity itself is a precious thing.
Can I get a witness?
