AMERICA'S OTHER CHRISTIAN GLADIATOR

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Pravoslavnik
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Joined: Wed 17 January 2007 9:34 pm
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AMERICA'S OTHER CHRISTIAN GLADIATOR

Post by Pravoslavnik »

American football fans have been polarized lately by the emergence of the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow as an NFL "superstar." Tebow had a storied football career at the University of Florida, where he won national championships and the Heisman, but was widely believed to lack the skills needed to succeed as a professional quarterback. Athletics aside, Tebow is most famous for his openness about being a Christian-- even participating in a Super Bowl commercial two years ago condemning abortion.

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    Now Tebow is winning, unexpectedly, in the NFL.  During his surprising success this year as a professional football player for the Denver Broncos, Tebow has been either openly mocked, or  admired, for his habit of giving glory to the Lord Jesus Christ for all things in media interviews, and even bowing in prayer on the sidelines after games (called "Tebowing" in the popular media.)

   But few Americans know that one of America's greatest contemporary football players is a devout Orthodox Christian.  Troy Polamalu, the future Hall of Fame safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is a convert to the Orthodox Church who keeps a strict Old Calendar fast, even during the physically demanding professional football season, makes regular pilgrimages to Orthodox monasteries and other holy sites, and has named his sons, Paisios and Ephraim, after Orthodox Christian saints.  His coaches and colleagues describe Polamalu as soft spoken and humble.

    Polamalu is, arguably, the greatest defensive player in the modern NFL-- having won numerous honors as a collegiate player at the University of Southern California, and several Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He is a standard character in modern video games simulating NFL football games, and has played in multiple Pro Bowls-- the highest honor in his profession.   He is an American Samoan by birth, originally from Oregon, who is best known for his uncanny athleticism and the long, curly hair protruding from the back of his helmet.  Neither he, nor his wife, Theodora, were raised in the Orthodox Church, but they are both devout converts to Orthodoxy.  As a Wikipedia biographical entry put it:

  [i]Polamalu is well read in the history and theology of early Christianity, which ultimately led him and his wife Theodora to convert to Orthodox Christianity in 2007. He makes the Sign of the Cross after every play. Among his spiritual activities is a pilgrimage to Orthodox Christian sites in Greece and Turkey, taken in 2007.[25] He seldom gives interviews, but when he does, he often speaks of the role his spirituality plays in his life. Polamalu has said that he tries to separate himself from his profession as much as possible, including not watching football games at home. He prays after each play and on the sidelines.[26] His children, Paisios, and Ephraim, are both named after well-known Greek Orthodox Christian saints.[/i]

    In January of this year, the[i] Pittsburgh Gazette [/i]published a wonderful article about Troy Polamalu's Orthodox practice of fasting during the Nativity season, and celebrating Christmas on the Old Calendar.*   Unlike Tim Tebow, Polamalu's remarkable spiritual story has received very little attention in the popular American media, but is certainly inspirational for Orthodox Christians.

    May God grant him many years!!
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