The 2009-10 Indianapolis Colts were undefeated. With the top playoff spot secured, and two games against lesser opponents on their remaining schedule, they were a Super Bowl playoff run away from securing a permanent seat at the highest echelon of North American sport’s history. But in the second-to-last game of the regular season, the team’s upper management chose to rest key starters for the playoffs, and lost to the New York Jets. It was a controversial decision that sent a steady buzz through the American sport’s media. The fans felt cheated. The players felt betrayed. Due to the high risk of injury in each game, the resting of players late in the season is commonly practiced by playoff bound teams. But to most it appeared the Colts still had a great deal to play for, much more than is estimable. They had a clear shot at the first undefeated American football season since 1972. Instead, the Colts’ management chose to settle for less because they were afraid of incurring injury in the pursuit of a perfect season.
On the path to holiness, when circumstance provides us with a choice between two goods, we fearlessly seek the more perfect good, right? Then why should the path to a Super Bowl Championship be any different? Is it possible that the Colts, in resting their players, were able to pursue a higher, more hidden kind of perfection, amid their loss to the Jets? 
To find our answer, we take a closer look through the lens of our faith at the interior struggles of the individuals involved. For we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him (Rom 8:28), even through the unfortunate record of a N.F.L. team.
It was obvious that the team’s star quarterback, Peyton Manning, wanted to finish the season undefeated. But he had to respect the authority of his coach. It says so in his contract. This guy is as competitive as they come, and so for him it was an exercise in interior discipline that far exceeded the challenge of finishing the season undefeated. On the sideline he restrained himself from making a visible protest. And after the game he did not vocalize any criticism of his coach’s decision. It required the complete surrender of his will, though every cell in his body pleaded him to do the opposite. We assume every other player on the Colt’s sideline faced a similar challenge in that game, and those who surrendered to their coach in heroic obedience chose the more perfect good, and in doing so, succeeded in sustaining a bit of the perfection lost in defeat.
We assume that resting players for the playoffs was perceived by the Colts’ head coach, Jim Caldwell, to be the best decision for the team. And it was his job to act in the best interest of the entire franchise, even if it required abandoning a shot at historical greatness. Caldwell knew the result of his decision would be unpopular among the players, the media, and the fans before he made it. But he chose to throw the game anyway, and in doing so exercised the responsibility of his team leadership to the best of his ability. He willingly accepted the doghouse in place of the great honor that a more popular, shortsighted decision could have delivered. Regardless if it was the best decision or not, Caldwell willingly accepted the full burden of its weight, and in doing so he more closely imitated the life of Christ.
In every player’s heart there is a stubborn little boy who believes he can be perfect. It is a goal warranted by their being, and not by the result it brings. It is the same hope we find in an undefeated season, and in the yearning of every human being. Being 14-0 is the mere reflection of this heart, a symbol of the hope that is every happy person’s most treasured gift, and the seemingly unattainable dream of our race. We hold teams with perfect records in such high esteem not because they are perfect, but because they make visible just how hard perfection is to attain.
Nothing reveals this cost better than the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, for the way of perfection passes by way of the cross (Catechism 2015). In the book of Matthew, Jesus encourages us to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (5:48). And later the beloved evangelist promises us that whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him (1Jn2:5). This perfection is a human reality accomplished by divine love, the same love incarnated in and through God’s most perfect creature, Mary, his virgin mother. We believe we can be perfect because we believe in God’s only Son. We imitate Him as our ultimate end, and so are on the path to a perfection that has but one limit, that of having none (St. Gregory of Nyssa), an ever-increasing perfection unmatched by any NFL record or feat, the only perfection there is. We are undefeated in Christ.
[Editor’s note: Did you realize that Joseph Foster’s terrific use of this spiritual sports analogy actually follows an apostolic and biblical pattern. St. Paul made use of sports analogies several times in his epistles. Sports remains an especially effective evangelization and inspirational means by which to reach the hearts of men. This understanding prompted Steve Wood, Founder of St. Joseph ‘s Covenant Keepers to make the following observation about Champions of Faith :
Champions of Faith , is just the kind of media tool that will reach men — even those men who
seem uninterested in the Faith. Athletes who have trained and disciplined their bodies and developed their athletic talent to reach the majors automatically earn the respect of other men. When such athletes exhibit virtue and encourage faithfulness to Christ and His Church, other men sit up and listen. This DVD is a perfect gift for any man, a great resource for youth groups, and an ideal tool for fathers and sons to watch together. Highly recommended!
If you have not seen Champions of Faith yet, please click here to see the trailer and order the DVD. Special pricing is available for parishes, schools and organizations interested in a Champions of Faith community program such as fundraisers, speaker events or the Scholarship program. It’s the perfect spring fundraiser for your parish youth group.]
