pro-choice?

I’ll admit it right from the start. I didn’t plan it this way. It just sort of played itself out… kind of just happened.

For Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVII between the Eagles and Chiefs, I went into the game unsure of where my zeal would soon lie. I like the Eagles. I like the Chiefs. I admire the outspoken faith-comes-first approach of each team’s leaders, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. I also appreciate the newly popular podcasters, the articulate brothers Kelce, wittily representing their respective teams. 

From a perceived negative perspective, there isn’t much I dislike about either team. I mean, with 53 players on each team’s active roster, no team will corner the market on character. Granted, I’m not a huge fan of either team’s colors as one feels kind of blah and I’ve also long semi-humbly declared that “no man looks good in yellow pants.” Just my opinion, friends.

But what happened as the game ensued, with the Eagles soaring first and the Chiefs leading later, is that I found myself not choosing a team. In fact, I never chose one. I had moments in which I felt, “Hey, that’s a great play!” Or “Wow… where was the pass coverage on that?” In other words, I had times where I cheered and times when I jeered — times perceived to be supportive and critical of each NFL team. But there were no darts thrown. No zingers. There was something about my absence of choice that allowed for both a more objective analysis and an awareness that insult was unnecessary. Not only is insult unnecessary, but it serves zero constructive purpose; insult only serves to rattle.

The scenario made me increasingly observant of the number who attempt to make us choose… like we can only be one or the other… an Eagles fan or a Chiefs fan. And we do this in far more than football. We attempt to make people choose… We tell them they have to… they stand for nothing if they don’t stand for something. They’re either for us or against us!

Friends, let me say this as kindly as possible. I think that’s a bunch of nice-sounding hogwash.

I’m not being mean. I get it. I really do. If I can get you to join me in my thinking, I get one more person on my team. And if you don’t choose me, well, I can write you off a bit. I don’t have to waste my time with what you think. The only problem with that is that the person who sees the wisdom of not needing to conform to our culturally-crafted, black-and-white sides is also typically the one who holds the greater likelihood of objective analysis. Our “choice” often impedes our discernment.

Think simply of this past week, of the number who encouraged such black-and-white choosing on much…

On who is most adept at protecting us from those big, bad spy balloons…

On whether it was right or wrong for the First Lady to kiss the Second Gentleman on the lips in public of all places…

On whether the eye-catching “He Gets Us” commercials have unstated, ulterior motives…

On whether Pres. Biden is too old to run for re-election, Pres. Trump is too old to run, and if “ageism” is in play for either man or Madonna…

And of course…

On whether grown men ever look good in yellow pants. 

Friends, I know this isn’t a popular perspective. It doesn’t always feel good for the beholder either. I admit, it would be easier many days to choose — to make everything black and white, to quit being curious, to adopt a singular standpoint and then run all analysis through our binary filter. That would be easier. We could quit listening to the different then, ignoring the reality that we will always have more to learn. We learn most when we remain curious.

At our Super Bowl party Sunday night, in fact, where we had a festive crowd of some 30 gathered, there is no doubt that both the Eagles and Chiefs diehards in the room would have preferred I choose their team. You should have heard them cheer! I get it. Indeed! I feel the same way about my beloved Bengals and Boilermakers in their respective sports.

Granted, I’m not always the most objective either.

Respectfully…

AR