10960: Super Bowl XLVII Wrap-Up.

As predicted, Offensive Karma led to a Baltimore Ravens victory in Super Bowl XLVII, as San Francisco 49ers backup cornerback Chris Culliver’s homophobic remarks were arguably worse than Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco’s “retarded” comment. But the game was close, perhaps because of potential Offensive Karma from veteran Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. It’s tough to root for Lewis, as well as NFL players like Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger, all of whose indiscretions have gone beyond the standard bad boy behavior. Lewis’ spiritual rhetoric in recent weeks has been annoying, as he seemingly dodged delivering straightforward honesty by spouting sanctimonious bullshit. Accusations of using banned substances resulted in Lewis proclaiming, “The trick of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy. That’s what he comes to do. He comes to distract you from everything you’re trying to do.” One would think Lewis might refrain from uttering lines incorporating words such as devil, kill and destroy. In an interview that aired on CBS before the game, Shannon Sharpe asked, “A couple of weeks ago, the family of the incident in 2000, and I’m paraphrasing, but it goes something like this: While Ray Lewis is being celebrated by millions, two men tragically and brutally died in Atlanta. Ray Lewis knows more than Ray Lewis ever shared. What would you like to say to the family?” Lewis replied, “It’s simple. God has never made a mistake. That’s just who he is. You see? And if our system, this is the sad thing about our system—if our system took the time to really investigate what happened 13 years ago, maybe they would have got to the bottom line truth. But the saddest thing ever is a man looked me in my face and told me, ‘we know you didn’t do this, but you going down for it anyway.’ To the family, if you knew—if you really knew—the way God works, he don’t use people who commits anything like that for his good. No way. It’s the total opposite.” Um, even the most learned theologian would struggle to decipher that statement. Surely Lewis wasn’t implying that people have never been convicted—and executed—for crimes they did not commit; or that people who were guilty of wrongdoing have not walked away sans punishment. From murder exposés to deer antler spray allegations to charity controversies, the Lewis haters were out in force. After the game, Lewis placed his hand on the Lombardi Trophy and hollered, “When God is for you, who can be against you?” Until Lewis learns to speak with straightforward honesty, there will continue to be lots of people against him.