The Good Report

The regression model alone predicts Super Bowl viewership to be at 117.3 million for this year. However, when accounting for the Chiefs and Eagles viewership adjustment factors, that number jumps to 119.7 million viewers. That represents a 3% decrease from 2024 and a 4% increase from 2023.

Super Bowl LVIII on CBS led the way with 120.0 million viewers, the largest audience in history for a single network. 

I love to watch football, but I almost always don't like the halftime show, so I don't watch it.

Crosswalk is reminding us this year that among the fanfare of the event are committed Christians playing the game to honor their "Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Trump has made a special announcement regarding Billy Graham.

Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Some things of "good report."

Christians playing in the Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off this Sunday at Super Bowl LIX  at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

This marks the third consecutive Super Bowl for the Chiefs, who are seeking to win the Lombardi trophy for the fourth time. Meanwhile, the Eagles, who won at Superbowl LII in 2018, will be making their fifth Super Bowl appearance following their loss against the Chiefs in 2023.

Regardless of which team you're rooting for-- or no team because you don't like football-- Crosswalk has identified 6 players from both teams who are professing Christians and will be playing at Super Bowl LIX this Sunday. 

1. Patrick Mahomes

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been outspoken about his Christian faith throughout his career. On Sunday, his team was victorious 32-29 over the Buffalo Bills AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. 

"First off, I want to give all glory to God. Without Him, none of this is possible, and I truly mean that," Mahomes told CBS Sports in a post-game interview. 

Before Super Bowl LV last year, Mahomes shared that he prays at the goalpost prior to every game. 

"Before every game, I walk the field, and I do a prayer at the goalpost," he said before Super Bowl LV. "I just thank God for those opportunities, and I thank God for letting me be on a stage where I can glorify him."

Mahomes noted how he got a tattoo in light of the biblical story Eutychus in Acts 20:7, which had a profound impact on his life. 

"It's about being half in and half out on God. That's the interpretation I took from it and how you can't be half in and half out," Mahomes said. "So that was the Bible verse that kind of stuck with me, that told me that I needed to be fully in."

2. Harrison Butker

Next on the list is Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, a devout Catholic who has often spoken out against abortion. Last year, he made headlines for his comments during a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, particularly noting that women were lied to by society. Although they look forward to having careers one day, they ultimately look forward to becoming mothers.

"I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother," he said. "Things like abortion, [in-vitro fertilization], surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder."

He also denounced then-President Joe Biden for supporting abortion. 

During a White House ceremony with the Chiefs in June 2023, Butker wore a tie featuring the Latin phrase Vulnerari Praesidio, which means "protect the most vulnerable."

His Instagram, which includes faith-based posts and Bible verses, includes the words "Christus regnat," a Latin phrase that translates to "Christ reigns, as part of his bio.

3. Chris Jones

Chiefs Defensive tackle Chris Jones is a Christian who has posted about his faith on social media, including having I Am Second, a reference to the Christian organization, in his bio. 

"God is good!" Jones wrote on X earlier this month.

According to BeliefNet, Jones shared he was raised in the church. 

"My grandma, right behind her house, probably 200 feet, is a church that everyone in my small town, everyone in my neighborhood, goes to," he said. "I was raised in a church. My grandfather used to play guitar. My grandmother has a singing group, so it was a natural thing for us to go to church every Sunday."

During a 2020 interview with Sports Spectrum, Jones said that "my faith is everything" while he described his upbringing in church. 

"Jesus means the Son of God," Jones said. "The most perfect human being who sacrificed His life for us, so that right there means a lot, so our sins can be forgiven."

4. Jalen Hurts

During a post-game interview on Sunday, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts expressed gratitude to God after his team defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23 in Philadelphia. As reported by Church Leaders, he thanked "God for the opportunity, thank him for giving me focus and resilience and steadfastness within it all."

When asked about his Super Bowl loss against the Chiefs in 2023, he stressed the importance of resilience. 

"Failure has to be used as a source of pain to go take that next step," the quarterback added, "There's always learning opportunities [in] everything, and I think it's human nature to be ignited by the shortcomings."

Speaking with Essentially Sports, Hurts spoke about his Christian faith, including his favorite Bible verse, John  13:7, which reads, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

5. Will Shipley

Toward the end of the NFC Championship game, Eagles running back Will Shipley scored his first touchdown in the NFL. Shipley, 22, told Clemson Sports Talk playing football is "what God put me on this earth to do."

When it comes to maintaining enthusiasm for the game, he said, "I think it's the Holy Spirit shining through me, which is why I have to learn how to redirect it sometimes to truly let the light shine."

Shipley has also referenced his Christian faith, including a recent Instagram post about following the path God has laid out.

"He has paved the path; it is our duty to go down it," Shipley wrote in the caption. He also added a Bible verse from Proverbs 19:21 NLT: "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."

6. Saquon Barkley

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley has also been outspoken about his Christian faith. Prior to the 2023 Super Bowl, he told Sports Spectrum, "I read the Bible a lot because that's how I fight my problems. I'm not trying to stand up here and be a perfect guy because I'm not; nobody is. But I just lean heavily on my faith and try to let [God] direct my paths."

He also shared that his favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:18, which he paraphrased as "The pain you have been feeling cannot compare to the joy that is coming."

During an interview with Faith On The Field podcast, Barkley also shared how his faith is the driving force behind his football games and life.

Billy Graham

President Donald Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes will host sculptures honoring “great figures of America’s history,” with the late Rev. Billy Graham destined to be among them.

The president revealed the addition on Thursday morning while he addressed the bipartisan National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

He shared that the world-famous evangelist preacher was a man “everybody loved” who Trump himself watched as a young boy alongside his father when they attended Billy Graham crusades with “60 to 70,000 other people.”

The "good report" is growing.

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