Super Bowl 50: God Has a Good Night at the NFL Honors

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 10:19 am by Kate O'Hare

Super Bowl 50: God Has a Good Night at the NFL Honors 2016-02-08T10:19:49-08:00 Kate O'Hare

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Former Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, winner of the 2011 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award — which recognizes players for their volunteer and charity work, as well as excellence on the field — may have said it best about the role of faith in football. From a piece I did for Pax Culturati and The Tidings last September:

“I’ve always said football’s a very spiritual game,” he said. “The game will bring you to your knees, so you might as well start there. It’s just because football’s so difficult, and the highs are high, and the lows are very low, and it’s so much work and grinding and dedication.

“You have to have a spiritual experience or awakening while you’re doing it. You just have to, otherwise it’s like you’re not even alive. Football brought me back to my faith.”

This was on display during last night’s NFL Honors show, held in advance to today’s (Sunday, Feb. 7), 50th annual Super Bowl game, between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.

Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the awards were funny and brisk (click here for O’Brien’s hilarious but savage opening monologue), with generally brief, heartfelt acceptance speeches and several references to thanking and serving God.

Back when Birk won, one of the other nominees was Anquan Boldin, currently a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers (Birk is standing in the back, with Boldin on the far right).

Embed from Getty Images

Last night, in his team’s hometown, Florida native Boldin was named the 2015 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, presented by Nationwide Insurance. Established in 1970, the award was renamed for Chicago Bears running back Payton, nicknamed “Sweetness,” in 1999 — not because he was a perfect man, which he definitely wasn’t — but because he used his celebrity and time to benefit many charitable and humanitarian causes. Today, his family carries on that legacy through the Payton Family Foundation.

A panel of judges — which includes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, widow Connie Payton and former players — choose the finalists. This year, the final three were New York Giants QB Eli Manning, New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson (a strong Christian, whom I’ve written about often) and Boldin.

When Boldin won — for the work of his Q81 Foundation, which serves underprivileged children — here’s a bit of what he said (click here for the full video, plus the one that introduced his nomination):

“When I first got into the NFL nobody could tell me anything. I was living life,” Boldin said. “I had achieved my dream of one day making it into the NFL, but I soon realized that’s not what life is all about. I realized my purpose in life was not to make it to the NFL and score touchdowns. God put me on this earth for something much bigger than that and I realized and understand what my purpose is now. … It’s my prayer and my hope that I can live out the rest of my life honoring God and help as many people as possible.”

The NFL’s official Tweet of the speech:

“It’s my hope… I can help as many people as possible.”@AnquanBoldin‘s #WPMOY acceptance speech. #NFLHonors https://t.co/tsyZ8fD8gh

— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2016

Here’s a look at Boldin and current Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on a 2012 fundraising trip to Ethiopia for Oxfam:

There’s no better use of celebrity than to exploit the platform it provides to help others. It’s a shame that the media cares far more covering about NFL players who get in trouble than focusing on the guys trying to give back. It takes more than first-down chains to measure the full worth of a man.

Images: Official Anquan Boldin Facebook page; Getty Images

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