As sports fans know, it takes a lot to get pundit Colin Cowherd to be quiet. Leave it to praise for the Lord to do what other men have tried and failed to accomplish.
During an appearance on Cowherd’s Fox Sports 1 show on Monday, New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis offered a powerful tribute to God’s power, saying that the reason why he was “still playing is because God has not done what He’s doing with me in the game yet” and that he would continue to “play as long as He tells me to.”
The words came in response to a question about where “is the line for you that, ‘hey, I’m going to hang it up.’”
Davis, who at 35 is an older NFL player, has been in the league for over a decade, yet has still made the Pro Bowl twice in his later years — 2022 and 2023. He was first team All Pro in 2019 and second team All Pro in 2020 through 2023.
Yet the Saints, who he’s been with since 2018, don’t seem much closer to being a contender than they were last year, when they were 9–8 in a terrible NFC South and failed to make the playoffs.
“You’re still dominant, whcih is incredible in year 13 for a linebacker,” Cowherd said. “When do you just say — is it winning, if the team’s not winning? What is that for you? What it’s look like, retirement and when?”
Davis said that it was “a phenomenal question” and it all boiled down to “identity and knowing who you are.”
“I’ve been so blessed by this game,” Davis told Cowherd.
“I’ve played a lot longer than I ever thought I would, I’ve gotten a chance to experience so much, and to be able to be where I am and have set my family up for long after I leave this place,” he continued, before turning the topic to God.
Are you a fan of Demario Davis?
Yes: 86% (12 Votes)
No: 14% (2 Votes)
“You know why I am still playing? It’s because God has not done what He’s doing with me in the game yet. And I’ll play as long as He tells me to keep going.”
“He knows every time I get in a seat like this, I’m going to give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Saints LB @demario__davis gives glory to God in an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. pic.twitter.com/vIc7izgegy
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) August 13, 2024
“Because it’s Him that is … extending my platform, because He knows what I’m going to do with it. He knows that every time I get in a seat like this, I’m going to give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’m going to say it’s because of Him that I’m here,” he continued.
He went on to add that, when he was back with the Cleveland Browns in 2017, he was ready to give up.
“And I said, ‘Man, God, my body is broke down. My mind is broke down. I can’t do it anymore. But if You want me to go forward, I’ll keep going.’
“And I’m praying this, and God literally spoke to me internally, and was just like, ‘I got it. You wave the white flag, I got it from here.’
“So I can’t help but to use this platform to continue to give Him Glory every time. It’s not like a front for me, it’s not like a T-shirt, it’s not like a chain for me, it’s not like earrings with crosses on them, It’s not like I’m just trying to have a brand of Jesus Christ … it’s my life.”
Full segment here:
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That’ll be the greatest two minutes you’ll see on network television today, if not on sports television period. And, for what it’s worth, credit to Cowherd to letting him talk about it without interruption.
This is a rare kind of faith in 2024. We’ve gotten performative about service to the Lord and proper vocation. And, yes, while we shouldn’t judge others while we watch on TV, sometimes it does feel like it’s about the T-shirts or the earrings.
To put everything in the Lord and to hear His voice tell you to essentially surrender to His will isn’t an immature kind of faith. It’s the sort of thing that takes supreme confidence in Him, particularly when your job involves putting your body on the line for a team that’s not predicted to go to the Super Bowl any time in the near future.
Demario Davis has it. If he can — and can leave Colin Cowherd absolutely silent as he talks about this faith — then those of us watching from home have no excuse.
