Truly A Souper Bowl!

This coming Sunday is a sort of national holiday, if you will: Super Bowl Sunday. It is a day when even the most casual of sports fans will pay attention to the “Big Game” if for no other reason than to watch the commercial breaks. No matter how you feel about it, Super Bowl Sunday is one of those major sporting and television events that seems to capture the nation’s attention, and in some other cases, the world’s! Get a load of some of these numbers:

It is estimated that more than 100 million people will watch this year’s Big Game (more than 111 Million watched last year, so these estimates are conservative).

CBS is charging $4 million for a Super Bowl commercial slot.

A ticket for the cheapest seats to the Big Game starts – STARTS – at $2,067.

If you’re going to the game, chances are you’ll need a hotel room, running from $100 to $15,000 per night this weekend.

If you are the adventuresome sort, Vegas is expecting $90 million in LEGAL betting on the game, and this does not even count the less reputable (read “illegal”) betting that will take place everywhere. Please note: I am absolutely, unequivocally, categorically saying that I am NOT condoning gambling…just quoting a stat that I read. I am not a gambler and do not recommend it for anyone. Okay, disclaimer: check.

Even if you aren’t going to the Big Game, be expected to shell out some “dough” if you plan on watching from home or a party:

Major pizza chains charge more for pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday than at almost any other time of year. Did you know that Pizza Hut alone, in preparation for 2011’s festivities, prepped 1,100 tons of dough and 90,000 gallons of tomato sauce?

Last February, Americans downed an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings and more than 15,000 tons of chips – for a grand total cost of $55 million on food and $237 million on soft drinks. With the estimate that 100 million people will watch this Super Bowl, crunch the numbers (along with all those chips) and you get a $3 tab per TV viewer.

All told, the National Retail Federation projects that people will spend $68.76 to enjoy the Big Game. To be sure, $68-plus sounds more like a meal at a nice restaurant, but this is the Super Bowl! It's not just the food that drives up the per-person amount; that estimate includes what fans spend on apparel, merchandise, and even electronics (the costs run up in a hurry when you're buying a new big-screen TV just for the game or commercials).

Suffice it to say, the Super Bowl is a big game, but even bigger business! These numbers are astounding and it is clear (to me at least) that if the Falcons had made the Super Bowl, we might very well be contributing more emphatically to these totals. Alas, the Falcons are home and we will enjoy the game like the other 19,353 “cities” in the US (according to the Census, there are 19,355 incorporated “places” in this country and I subtracted Baltimore and San Francisco, whose NFL teams will meet on the gridiron this Sunday afternoon).

In all of these 19,355 “incorporated places,” there are people who are not able to enjoy the game like others because of their need. This caught the attention of the Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina in 1990, so they had an idea that gave birth to a movement that has provided assistance to people in need, known as, The Souper Bowl of Caring. For more than two decades, The Souper Bowl of Caring has helped draw attention to those who are not able to contribute to the $55 million on food, or $237 million on sodas, by providing some relief through local support and outreach charities and ministries.

This coming Sunday, we will have soup pots in our worship facilities so you can make a donation in our own Souper Bowl of Caring. All of the money contributed will be sent directly to the One Roof community outreach center to help provide relief to those in need in our community. We also are collecting non-perishable food items to help restock the shelves of the One Roof food pantry, which are bare after so much demand during the holidays. Your contribution, regardless of size, can go a long way to help meet the real needs of neighbors in our community.

So this week, while you are getting ready for the Big Game, think about the difference that you can help make in the life of an individual or family. While you are out shopping for chips, dips, and sodas, pick up some canned goods, pasta, peanut butter, etc., that you can leave in one of the bins at the church. If you don’t want to bring food items, you can make a contribution to the One Roof ministry by making a check to the church and marking “One Roof” in the memo blank. And remember, even the smallest of contributions, when added together with others’, can make a dynamic and lasting impact, not just for those in need, but even for the Lord Himself. For as Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25.40)

So let’s get ready, not just for an afternoon of (hopefully) exciting football, but for the opportunity to help someone in need. You have the opportunity to make a difference, and I pray you will during our 2013 Souper Bowl of Caring!

Have a Great Rest of the Week,
Pastor Mark