By Harold Keller / L’Observateur / January 27, 1999

Who’s going to win the Super Bowl? That’s a good question, but nobody really knows the answer. If we listen to the oddsmakers from Las Vegas,the Denver Broncos are seven points better than the Falcons from Atlanta.

(Of course, these same gamblers also said that the Minnesota Vikings were 11 points better than the victorious Falcons.)The bottom line is that nobody knows the outcome of this Sunday’s game, which is the 33rd Super Bowl.

If you are a rabid football fan and a good enough historian, there are some things you might know about the Super Bowl.

You might know, for instance, that the first Super Bowl game was played in 1967 by the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. You mightremember who won – the Packers.

You might know that a Cinderella team won in 1969. Fifty-three expertshad been polled earlier in the season, and none of them gave the New York Jets a chance to make the Super Bowl, much less win it. The Friday beforethe game, while drinking coffee with a group of men at the Godchaux Morrison cafeteria, I made this statement: If the Jets win, I’ll never look at another football game as long as I live. The Jets, a 19-point underdog,with Joe Namath leading the way, beat the Colts and Hall of Fame quarterback, Johnny Unitas.

You might even know that the crime rate drops drastically in Super Bowl cities during game time. In one game played a few years ago in SanFrancisco, crime dipped from the normal 360 incidents in that time frame to only 96.

But there’s one thing no one can know, and that’s how the ball will bounce in this Super Bowl.

No, it’s impossible to name the winner of this year’s Super Bowl. In spiteof the unknown, my prediction is Atlanta 21, Denver 17. JimmyDelaneuville of Garyville has said that none of my predictions have ever been right. (Jimmy, even if you’re right, it’s not nice to talk behind myback.)Whoever wins will be soon forgotten. Some of the players on thechampionship team could possibly be losers in the game of life. On theother hand, the players on the losing team could all be victorious in the Super Bowl of Super Bowls, and that’s the game of life. The only decisionthey have to make is to know Jesus Christ in a personal way and they cannot lose.

Jesus is the captain of our salvation and He already clinched the victory for us. All we have to do is surrender to His will for our lives.How did Jesus wrap up the victory for mankind? Through His death on the cross. He had only one game plan. By this action, He showed His love formankind and guaranteed all who believed would be saved.

The winners and losers of Super Bowl 33 will receive a healthy financial reward. The payoff when you win with Christ is so much more important.The big prize, of course, is eternal life – the privilege of living forever in heaven with a loving God as your Father. You don’t have to wait until youdie. Each one of us can receive all kinds of benefits for the here and now.You can have a life that’s fulfilling, a victorious earthly walk, one free from enslavement to any evil power. Jesus also promised a fruitful life -one filled with love, joy and a peace that surpasses all understanding.

How can you join Christ’s triumphant team? First, you have to realize that you’re His number-one draft choice. All you have to do is acknowledge youneed Him, choose to believe in Him and repent and turn totally to Him.

After writing this article, I have come to realize that Sunday’s football game is really not that important.

Harold Keller is a regular columnist for L’Observateur

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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