Monday Morning Musing: Touchdown Jesus and other Oddities

Once upon a time, in southwest Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati, in the town of Monroe, there was a six story tall statue of Jesus, depicted from the waist up, arms raised toward the heavens, or raised in manner that signals a touchdown in football. He was known in the area as Touchdown Jesus. He was a part of Solid Rock Church (but was constructed of plastic foam and fiberglass.) On occasional road trips, when my kids were young, he was an oddity we'd spot, like Reptile World or the World's Largest Ball of Twine.

It's football season and if you know me, you know I'm a college football fan. Curiously, I never let my boys play football. Despite evidence to the contrary, I find football to be a barbaric sort of sport that has obviously resulted in life long debilitating injuries for some who have played the game. So why do I dress in my lucky shirt and grab the shakers and plant myself in front of the television every Saturday during my favorite season? Good question.

There are probably two answers, minimum. One is that I enjoy the atmosphere of college football. The marching band and the cheerleaders and the songs and the chants and the team running out onto the field. I appreciate these traditions even among teams I don't cheer for. The dotting of the I in Script Ohio is one of the coolest things out there.

The second reason for my affinity for college football is that it feels good to have something to associate oneself with, especially if it's a program of the caliber of Alabama Football. I am in no way a part of this, by the way, save that I'm a graduate of this fine institution and used to go to games as a student and even when I was in high school. And I've met Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings in person. Still, it feels good to hang my BAMA flag outside and set out my dear Peggy's BAMA themed metal tub that she gifted to me after I'd hinted widely that I'd like to have it. And I miss that she used to call us before and after every game...Roll Tide! she'd say when we answered. And if it was a nail biter, she'd add "never a doubt!" It's good to hitch your wagon to something or someone you don't have doubts about.

I could make the same argument that, at its core, I love the Church for some of the same reasons. I love the atmosphere of worship - the music and the liturgy and candles and the words that I've spoken my whole life long. And I love being a part of something that is both inherently flawed and trying with all its might to be love and light and goodness in the world. It's not a perfect metaphor, but it works for me.

Which brings me back to Touchdown Jesus. In 2010 it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving nothing but a steel frame and some charred fiberglass and foam. Some said it was a sign, but I'm pretty sure it was a fluke accident that makes for a good story and some conversation at the local diner.

Touchdown, Jesus. Roll Tide.

Touchdown Jesus before and well, during.....