“…the fans of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) are arguably the most ridiculously passionate fans in America.”

Welcome to the American South, where God and football scrimmage daily for the people’s hearts and minds.

Perhaps you think this an overstatement. Think of it this way: suppose an alien were to visit Tuscaloosa, Knoxville, or Baton Rouge…Suppose this visitor — we’ll call him Corso — were to spend a week observing the ordinary citizens of those towns. What do you think Corso the alien would conclude about the religious beliefs of those average, everyday people?

Well, on Sunday morning he’d probably see them make their groggy, wrinkled-shirted way to a steepled building where some sort of ceremony had begun ten minutes before they arrived. Inside, he’d watch as they mouthed the words to songs, then struggled to stay awake while a man spoke for less than twenty-five minutes. Then, for the rest of the week, this place would be the furthest thing from their minds, unless by chance something tragic happened.

Corso might be justified in concluding that church, for most, was a court-ordered punishment.

On Saturday, Corso would see something completely different. The people would wake up early, carefully choose an outfit based on the good fortune it had brought them in the past, then drive, sometimes for hours, to a hallowed campus where some sort of ceremony is scheduled for much, much later that day.

Chad Gibbs found football at the age of eight, found God one year later, and has spent the rest of his life worshiping one of the two. He and his wife currently live in Auburn, Alabama, with their dogs Bob Vance and Harper. For more information, please visit www.chadgibbs.com.

Read More: http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/men/11637011/page0/