An observation

I happen to be a Christian and I happen to enjoy sports. I thought it was interesting that the consensus best athletes presently playing in the NBA, NFL, & MLB are all Christians. I do not think this alignment conveys that it is a requisite to be Christian in order to be successful, but I do find it motivating that Christians can find such great success and maintain a strong faith in Jesus.


Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant in a Larry King interview on CNN stated:

"We all have crosses to bear. And you know, the cross that you are blessed to carry, may feel like a huge burden to you, but there's somebody out there who has a cross five times bigger than yours that's carrying that cross. And then there's another person who has a cross bigger than his. And so we're all blessed in our own way, to be able to just wake up in the morning and to be able to receive the Lord's blessing, and to carry that cross and carry that burden, because it's a blessing, and that's how it should be looked. Because in the process of going through adversity, you're learning something. It brings you closer to God."

And Bryant also stated plainly, "My faith carries me."


San Diego Charger runningback LaDainian Tomlinson in a Christian Broadcasting Network interview stated:

"God has given me all these blessings. A lot of people may know my face and know that I’m a good player on the football field, but they probably don’t really know me as a person. I owe this to God; it's all about Him."

Tomlinson's website advertises his Tomlinson’s Touching Lives Foundation and the online bio lists The Passion of the Christ as one of Tomlinson's two favorite movies.


St. Louis Cardinal firstbaseman Albert Pujols funds the Pujols Family Foundation, which states clearly on its homepage:

"We exist to honor God and strengthen families through our works, deeds, and our example."

The site goes further in outlining the Albert and his wife's faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, which quotes Pujols:

"People ask me if I believe how quickly my career has taken off. I just tell them that Jesus Christ is my strength. God has blessed me and I will continue to do my best for him. That is more important than anything I could ever do in baseball."

And simply describes the family priorities as "In the Pujols family, God is first. Everything else is a distant second."