It goes without saying that this year’s Super Bowl was an absolute disaster. From the morally depraved and anti-American halftime show to the terrible commercials and boring gameplay, the NFL’s supposedly premier product was anything but.
Yet, amid the failed spectacle was the bright spot brought about by Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who used the most-watched event in the country to praise God and point to his Christian faith.
The moment came during the presentation of the Lombardi trophy after Macdonald’s Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in a 29-13 win. While addressing the second-year head coach, NBC Sports reporter Maria Taylor noted that Macdonald doesn’t “like to talk about [himself] that much,” and asked him to “describe, for a guy who almost walked away from coaching, was going to be in corporate America, in his second season, you now have a Lombardi trophy in your hand. What does this moment mean?”
Without hesitation, Macdonald pointed to God for “calling” him to coach football, and praised Him for leading his team to victory.
“I believe God called me to be a coach, and I listened to Him. And I thank Him,” Macdonald said. “And we are incredibly blessed to be Seahawks, to be 12s, and now we’re world champions.”
Macdonald previously discussed the importance of his faith in the days ahead of Sunday’s big game. When asked by a Sports Spectrum reporter about how his “faith in Christ” helps him lead his team to a championship during a pre-Super Bowl press conference, the Seahawks head coach said that his “faith has really grown over the last couple years” and that it’s “what [he] lean[s] on” and “where [his] strength comes from.”
“Recently … I have this gratitude, and then ultimately strength, that you feel like God has put you in a position to lead these people, and that’s your guiding light every day,” Macdonald said. “So, it’s something that I can hopefully continue to grow, and hopefully our players continue to seek it out — seek their faith and grow in their faith. It’s really special, and we got a lot of guys that are examples for me, too.”
The Seattle head coach wasn’t the only Seahawk to use his platform to invoke his faith during Sunday’s Super Bowl, however.
Seattle running back and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III also glorified God when accepting the Lombardi trophy. The Michigan State alum racked up 135 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards in Sunday’s win.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for this blessing to be here,” Walker said. “I also want to thank my brothers. This don’t happen without them. We went through a lot of adversity this season, but we came together and we stuck together and … that’s what we got.”
