| “I never in a million years thought I'd hear the words "Super Bowl" and "Cardinals" in the same sentence. |
Many of you are surprised that the Arizona Cardinals have made it to the Super Bowl. On February 1st, the most unlikely team in history will take on the Pittsburg Steelers in their first-ever appearance at the big game in Tampa. I can hear you now, ‚“The Cardinals?" "You've got to be kidding me!", "I never in a million years thought I'd hear the words‚ "Super Bowl" and "Cardinals" in the same sentence. I can hear the shock in your voice.
I, however, am not surprised.
You may not know this, but I am actually a lightning rod for attracting winning teams.
Consider this:
When we lived in Phoenix in 1993, the Phoenix Suns made it to the NBA Championship.
When we lived in Denver from 1994 to 2003, the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl two years in a row. (1998, 199).
During that same stretch in Denver, the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001.
When we lived in St. Louis from 2003 through 2007, the Cardinals made it to the World Series twice, winning it in 2007.
In other words, from 1993 to 2009, a time period of 16 years, I have seen 8 home teams make it to the big game. That ‚¬ „¢s a 50% record! Surely that should be in the Guinness World Book of Records. Based upon my history, I believe we are going to see big things for Arizona teams.
Then again, it could just be that I was in the right state at the right time. Naw...
But since I am an expert in these things, let me tell you how it will go. If the Cardinals win, there will be loud, joyous rioting in the streets of Arizona. We'll all stay up late watching the crowds on TV and feel good about living in such a winning state. If the Cardinals lose, there will be loud, rioting crowds in the streets of Arizona and we'll go to sleep a bit disappointed but still happy that our team made it to the top.
Yet there is one winning team that I have been associated with that has never won the Stanley Cup, the NBA Championship, the World Series or the Super Bowl. It's the Christian Church Triumphant - the victorious-over-death, sin, and power-of-the-devil always on top Saints. And that team will always win because the MVP remains undefeated.
May He fill you with the joy of a thousand Super Bowl wins.
Blessings,
Pastor David Hook
PS. We will still have church services on February 1st.
