The Chris Moeller Archives

The least American pastime-- and the most

In his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech Sunday, former 49ers quarterback Steve Young told us the greatest moment of his career was in the moments after San Francisco's 1994 Championship when all 55 players on the team gathered for the Lord's Prayer in the locker room.
All 55, huh? (The national news media, in their summaries of Young's speech, ignored this line completely.)

The Christian world would have us believe that there are "no Atheists in foxholes"-- though I remember hearing John McCain say once that he never called upon his God for aid in the Hanoi Hilton. (The soldiers were engaged in one of Caesar's tasks, he said, not God's.)
It seems it's also true that there are no Atheists in a football locker room. Or Agnostics. Or Jews or Muslims. Or Scientologists. But can this be true? New Saints receiver (and former Ram) Az Hakim is Muslim. What does he do when his teammates are kneeling on the field in a very public and Christian prayer after each game? I.

Why don't we hear from these non-Christian football players? Is it possible they don't feel it's safe to speak publicly about their minority faith or lack of one, and expect to keep a good standing with their teammates? Young, a devout Morman, has every right to express his beliefs, just as I have the right to believe that public proselytizing cheapens a person's faith. (And it puts a damper on a championship party-- Kurt Warner, are you listening?) But the laws of the workplace also should apply to professional sports locker rooms, and the locker rooms of public educational institutions. As far as I'm concerned, excluding teammates from any team activity based on their religion, or lack of one, is right on par with the racial intolerance and intimidation of previous generations. It may just take a special person to bring the issue to the forefront-- an Atheist Jackie Robinson in shoulder pads

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Did you get a chance to listen to the Tom Vilsack I-Cubs' broadcast tonight on KXNO? I tuned in starting with the 3rd inning, and had already missed the Governor's call on two Corey Patterson home runs. (The former Cub centerfielder-- and future Pittsburgh Pirate-- also added an RBI single.) In the 6th inning, Vilsack announced that a Cubs' home run "dusted off the Capitol Dome." Pretty good.

Actually, Vilsack was very good. He had a lot of people to chat with, and he paced well between pitches with comments such as "outfield, straight away and deep," and "good crowd on hand tonight."

In the 4th inning, Walford, IA native and 1995 Benton Community graduate, Nate Frese, came to bat with two out for the Cubs. Vilsack pointed out that Nate's son, Maddux, was celebrating his first birthday today, and opined about how great it would be if Nate could give him a birthday present. Frese lined a two-run single to center, his second hit of the night. "Happy Birthday, Maddux," Vilsack hollered, "Dad's bringing home two runs." Then he wondered aloud why a shortstop would name his son after a pitcher.

Vilsack said earlier on Monday that his broadcasting hero, while growing up in Pennsylvania, was the Pirates' Bob Prince. He planned to incorporate Prince's trademark home-run call, "Kiss it good-bye" into his broadcast. He may have.
I Googled Prince during the game, and found out that he would end each broadcast by saying, "Good night, Mary Edgerly, wherever you are." No one ever discovered who Mary Edgerly was. I stuck with Vilsack through the end of the broadcast, wondering if he would say that. But he didn't. That would have been cool.
Come to think of it, maybe he didn't say it because he knows where she is.

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You may be wondering whether I have better things to do than listen to the Governor call almost an entire minor-league baseball game on the radio.
Well, I don't.

posted by CM @ 10:19 PM