Signs & Wonders Blog

As a child, I became a Minnesota Vikings fan and memorized National Football League statistics. Sometimes I made up fictitious leagues. I created nicknames and uniforms for these teams in my mind’s eye. I also rooted for competitors like the United States Football League to succeed. Because the NFL has become a multi-billion dollar monopoly, a new league will unlikely give them a serious challenge soon. The USFL recently made a comeback but has since merged into what’s now the United Football League, a minor league playing in the spring. In recent years, I’ve cut back on watching NFL games . To save time, I watch highlights on YouTube (especially when the Vikings are playing well). I also don’t like recent changes the league made. If, by some act of God, they made me the NFL commissioner, I would like to see the following things happen: Expansion. The league now plays a few regular-season games in London and Mexico City. Many U. S. cities desire an NFL franchise. Eight might be to...

Two days ago, the 2024 Summer Olympics began in Paris, France. The Olympic Games are to celebrate sportsmanship and unity among nations. However, controversial moments have tainted past Olympiads. In 1968, two American runners raised gloved fists as a Black Power salute after winning medals in Mexico City. The two got expelled from the Olympic Village. There have also been tragedies, such as Palestinian terrorists killing Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Games. The Opening Ceremony of this year’s games included a drag queen parody of The Last Supper. It has been widely criticized by Christians and their supporters. American Catholic Bishop Robert Barron called it “gross mockery.” Jewish commentator Dr. Eli David labeled it an "outrageous insult to Jesus and Christianity.” Elon Musk said it was “extremely disrespectful.” Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker quoted Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked .” Friends have flooded my Facebook newsfeed with rem...

Years ago, a friend wore a T-shirt that said “Addicted to Space Invaders.” For a while, I was hooked on video games . One of my favorites was “Dr. Mario.” I would spend up to $10/day on that game. That was when most video games still cost only a quarter to play. One dictionary defines  addiction  as “relinquishing ourselves to the control of something or someone else.” An addiction usually doesn’t happen immediately. Alcoholics often start with just one drink. If they don’t know how to “hold their liquor," they gradually drink more and more until they cannot control themselves.   Everybody gets addicted to something. Some may choose drugs, pornography, gambling , food, sports, or watching TV for hours. A few of the latter could be called “news junkies” (or “headline stress disorder” according to a Northwestern University Medical School article). They have an obsession to know the latest current events.  I’ve heard people declare they have a caffeine addicti...

Growing up, I enjoyed watching baseball games on television, memorizing the statistics of various players, and collecting baseball cards. During the 1970s, I endured many mediocre and losing seasons by my favorite team: the Minnesota Twins. After I moved to Minneapolis, the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. I went to a few Twins games, briefly worked at a concession stand in the Metrodome, and attended a celebration at the stadium after the team won one of their American League pennants. It was an exciting time to be a Twins fan. My interest in baseball has since declined. One reason was a 1994 players’ strike which dragged on into 1995. Around this time, Major League Baseball added wild card teams to the postseason. I’ve never agreed with this. If a team isn’t good enough to win its division, then it shouldn’t have the opportunity to be declared “World Champions.” It cheapens the need to play well enough the whole season. The NFL , NBA, and NHL have approximately half thei...

In less than a month, the National Football League will begin a new regular season. I used to enjoy watching their games on TV. This year I plan to shy away from that even more.   Many fans like myself are opposed to the NFL permitting players to disrespect “The Star-Spangled Banner. ” Last year, the league started pairing that with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which has been called a “black national anthem.” Despite widespread criticism, Commissioner Roger Goodell declared, “We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter…Without black players, there would be no National Football League.”  That’s not entirely true. The league existed before segregation in professional sports ended. I’m not against “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a song. It originated from a Christian hymnal. However, playing a “black national anthem” before games is divisive instead of unifying. As stated before, I do not support the Black Lives Matter movement . The league has also succumbed...

Alex and Stephen Kendricks are former pastors from Georgia who have gone on to become successful filmmakers. The two brothers have put together six powerful faith-based movies over the past sixteen years. Their 2015 release “War Room” reached number one at the box office. Hopefully, their latest production “ Overcomer ” does likewise. I saw it two days ago. Alex plays John Harrison, a high school basketball coach who loses players due to a local manufacturing plant shutting down and families moving away. Meanwhile, the principal (played by Priscilla Shirer who starred in “War Room”) asks John to oversee the school’s cross-country program. The coach is reluctant but agrees to do so. Only one student shows up for the tryout: a fifteen-year-old girl with asthma. Despite Hannah’s handicap, she gradually improves her running skills.  During a hospital visit with his pastor, John inadvertently meets another patient who had lost his sight and legs due to diabetes. As they get t...

In this age of political correctness, debates over “offensive” nicknames for sports teams have increased. Four years ago, members of Congress from Michigan and Oklahoma sent a letter to the NFL insisting the Washington Redskins change their name. Other professional teams that experienced protests include baseball’s Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians. The latter will stop using its Chief Wahoo logo (pictured here) on their uniforms beginning with the 2019 season. High school and college sports haven’t been exempt from this controversy. Until June 2012, the University of North Dakota teams were called Fighting Sioux. That name was dropped due to pressure from the NCAA. They are now called the Fighting Hawks. Many UND students and alumni still call their teams Fighting Sioux. Surveys have determined most Native Americans don’t mind the use of Indian names for sports teams. One long-time Redskins fan of American Indian descent emailed the team saying, “I am very proud of the...

Sports fans in America love rooting for the underdog. Just over a year ago, the Chicago Cubs had many people pulling for them (myself included) as they won their first World Series in 108 years. Now another franchise with a reputation of losing big games has a chance of finally winning it all. It happens to be my favorite football team. The Minnesota Vikings began playing in 1961 as an NFL expansion team. Eight years later, they appeared in their first Super Bowl but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Three years after that, I started watching Vikings games on TV while growing up in Moorhead, Minnesota. The following season, they reached Super Bowl VIII, which was played on my tenth birthday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a Super Sunday for me as the Vikings lost to the Miami Dolphins. Nevertheless, I remained a Minnesota Vikings fan with quarterback Fran Tarkenton as my favorite player. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, I watched almost every Vikings game on TV. They consistently w...

Every year millions of people gather around televisions to watch the Super Bowl.  The first time I ever watched it was on my tenth birthday in 1974. I was full of excitement since the Minnesota Vikings was one of the teams playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. That morning at Sunday school, the teacher noticed my zeal for the big game. In front of the whole class he asked me, “Which is more important…church or football?” Without hesitation I replied, “Football.” My dad scolded me when he later found out about this. Back then I didn’t see any benefit in going to church. We attended a traditional institution that gave me wrong perceptions of Christianity (it would be another 17 years before I realized how real God is).  The Vikings ended up losing Super Bowl VIII to the Miami Dolphins. It would be their second of four Super Bowl losses during the 1970s. My favorite team hasn’t returned to the big game in almost 40 years. I would like to see the Vikings win it at ...

Today millions of people will gather around TV sets to see the Seattle Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Despite the fact I enjoy watching NFL games, I plan to avoid certain parts of the telecast. One of them is Queen Latifah singing “God Bless America” before the kickoff. This is the same woman who  at last Sunday’s Grammy Awards  officiated a mass wedding that included homosexual couples. The Super Bowl halftime shows also had a couple of profane incidents by their performers. Although the commercials are often clever and entertaining, I’d rather just watch the football game. Prior to previous Super Bowls, my mom and dad often asked me to make a prediction. Usually, I haven’t come close to the final score but there have been exceptions. Prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, I picked the St. Louis Rams to beat the New England Patriots 20-17. However, I also told my parents that the game could go into overtime with the New England Patriots pulling off an up...

I enjoy watching football and baseball games on TV…especially if the Vikings and Twins are playing well.   But one thing I loathe is the increasing number of sporting events and stadiums named after businesses.   During the 1980’s, organizers of college bowl games started giving corporate sponsors “naming rights .”   All these games used to have simple names like the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl.   Now we have games such as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and The Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas .   What’s really confusing is many of these games change their name every few years.   For example, this year’s Belk Bowl (to be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina) was previously called the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Continental Tire Bowl, and before that the Queen City Bowl. Nowadays, most major league teams play in venues named after a corporate sponsor.   In 1990 when the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves announced th...