The Kansas City Chiefs found victory last night after overcoming a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to win the nation’s biggest annual sporting event, 31-20. But for several Chiefs players, a Super Bowl win pales in comparison to their relationship with Jesus Christ.
On the play of Chiefs quarterback and game MVP Patrick Mahomes and a late touchdown run by running back Damien Williams to seal the win, the team rallied to score 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Chiefs punter and their longest-tenured player, Dustin Colquitt, believes winning the Super Bowl—the franchise’s first in 50 years—is about more than a trophy and a ring; it’s about showing the world the love of Jesus.
“My faith in Christ is something that’s unwavering. Special teams can come and go, and eventually I’m not going to play in Kansas City or the League, but my faith in Christ is going to take me all the way to the other side—to eternity,” he said during a press conference before the game. “That’s something I share with coaches, with teammates, with anyone I come in contact with, because that’s the one thing I can count on never changing.”
The Chiefs’ Christ-centered culture seems to have started at the very top with the team’s owner and CEO Clark Hunt.
Hunt, a Christian since he was 10 years old, says that encouraging team members in their walk with Christ is a top priority.
“We want our employees to develop spiritually,” Hunt said in October at the CityFest East Texas Men’s Luncheon. “In the National Football League, Christ is really glorified. My identity is my faith in Christ.”
“There’s definitely a lot of Christians in the organization, and when it starts at the top, that’s pretty powerful, with the owner, and he kind of sets it from there,” said offensive lineman Stefan Wisniewski.
Wisniewski was released in mid-August by the Philadelphia Eagles before being picked up by the Chiefs.
“The best place you can be in life is the center of God’s will. And the center of God’s will for my life was unemployed for five weeks. And it was a challenge and He was with me and I leaned on Him during that time and I trusted Him, praised Him. I knew that if He wanted to, He could exalt me again and it was just my job to humble myself before Him. And here I am—about to start in the Super Bowl. That’s all because of God,” Wisniewski told CBN before the game.
While accepting the Lombardi Trophy, Hunt once again modeled to his team how to put faith in action.
With confetti raining down and thousands of fans cheering, he expressed his gratitude to God: “I want to thank the Lord for blessing our family with all these incredible people to bring this trophy home.”
Story updated at 7:38 p.m. EST, Feb. 3.
Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire CGV/Newscom