Catholic Heroes of the Super Bowl
With the 2008 Super Bowl just a few days away below is an article, from Catholic Online, about the Catholic heroes of the Super Bowl.
I never knew why they called a long bomb (ie. pass), usually towards the end of the game, a “Hail Mary” pass other than to logically conclude that the play’s success is going to need a prayer. However, after reading this article I’ve learned something new, that the Hail Mary pass in football originated from former Cowboy’s quarter back Roger Staubach. In a 1975 playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings he joked that he had said a Hail Mary just before he threw a 50-yard bomb to wide receiver Drew Pearson to win the game, 17-14. Personally, I hope he really wasn’t joking and did say that prayer :).
From Catholic Online:
Professional football was long considered a “Catholic” sport, drawing rugged players from the working class blue-collar immigrant families of which a good percentage were at least culturally Catholic. Times have changed in the intervening years, but the faith lives on, more quietly and imperfectly perhaps, among some of today’s greatest stars.