Pro Football Team Promotes 'Faith Nights', Dons Bible Verses

Pro Football Team Promotes 'Faith Nights,' Dons Bible Verses

By Jim Brown and Jody Brown
April 18, 2006

(AgapePress) - An arena football team in Birmingham, Alabama, will be sporting Bible-themed jerseys in an upcoming game.

The Birmingham Steeldogs will be wearing Christian throwback jerseys during the May 5 game against the Louisville Fire. Both teams are members of the 23-team Arena Football League. The jerseys worn by Steeldogs players that evening will display the name "Samson" on the front -- a reference to the Bible hero with incredible physical strength. On the back, players' names will be replaced by a book of the Bible, and players' numbers will correspond with a specific chapter and verse of that book.

In addition, free Bibles will distributed at the gate, and the Christian rock group Audio Adrenaline will perform in a pre-game concert. It is all part of the first of three "Barber's Dairy Faith Nights." Steeldogs' managing partner Scott Myers helped come up with the promotion.

"There's a number of goals that are involved in it," Myers explains. "We wanted to do something that was a unique way to share with our fans, to reach out to the community, just to do something different as an opportunity to share and to be a part of a great event."

Myers believes the promotion is a unique way to share a Christian message with fans. "We're having new jerseys made under our exact specifications of our normal jerseys, so they'll look the same," he says -- except for the team name, player name, and number, of course. "They'll just read a little differently."

In an interview with WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Myers explained that the Steeldogs organization has a long history of reaching out to local churches and youth groups and getting them involved. "With our team wearing these jerseys," he said, "it will help us further those efforts as well as allow us to present an uplifting message of faith to our fans."

Myers says Steeldogs coaches fully supported the decision to wear Bible-themed jerseys even though it was made before the team's final roster was set. The jerseys are made by the Christian Throwback Jersey Company of Birmingham.

The Birmingham football organization will host two more "Barber's Dairy Faith Nights" this summer. Christian artist Aaron Shust will perform before their game with the Florida Firecats on June 24. And on July 29, Warren Barfield will kick off the festivities before the Steeldogs take the field against the Tennessee Valley Vipers. According to WSFA-TV, "VeggieTale" characters Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato will also make an appearance at the July game.