Thuribulls show determination and resilience in memorable win
On November 13, 2021, amid the crisp fall air tinted with smoke from incense-burning thuribles, the 51视频 Thuribulls took on the team from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in a game of flag football. The game, as is well known by alumni from both schools, has gone by a simple moniker for decades:
The Polity Bowl.
Following a 20 month period filled with challenges, trauma, and loss, the Thuribulls did something they hadn鈥檛 done since 2009 – they won. Breaking a 12 year losing streak, the Thuribulls started the game with an interception returned for a touchdown, and then pulled away from APTS with two late 2nd half scores to win 34-20.
In front of a large energetic and electric crowd of fellow students, faculty, staff, family, and friends, the Thuribulls showed up organized, determined, and well-dressed. In the lead-up to game, as the team practiced each week and fans created signs and other forms of support, one thing become abundantly clear: this was about much more than just a football game.
鈥淲hen we started practices, the first thing that was obvious was how this game was filling part of the hole created when covid pulled us all apart,鈥� said Eric Scott, Vice President of Communications and Marketing. 鈥淭he desire to do something together, with a shared goal, in each others presence, was palpable. Some years we have to beg people to play. This year we had 20 to 30 people at every practice. We had people coming to practice just to cheer us on. It was the Holy Spirit healing our community through a football game.鈥�
“The Polity Bowl is an enduring tradition of which generations of alumni/ae have vivid memories,鈥� said the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Dean and President. 鈥淭he size and talent of the team, its teamwork, preparation, and spirit were all quite extraordinary. I am very, very proud!”
One characteristic noticed by some of the more experienced Polity Bowl participants was the make-up of the team. 鈥淲e had MDiv students, we had counseling students, we had spouses and partners and children and siblings of students, faculty, and alums from both programs,鈥� said Scott. 鈥淲e had faculty and staff. It was a testament not only to the enduring quality of our community, but to the depth and breadth of its reach. 51视频 is more than a campus community – it鈥檚 a network of inclusion that touches people more than we know.鈥�
The team was coached and quarterbacked by MDiv Senior Andrew Gordon. Gordon鈥檚 4 touchdown passes and steady leadership throughout the preparation and within the game were key to the win. Gordon, a former high school coach and varsity football letterman at Sewanee, shared the common sentiment: 鈥淭his season was about getting 51视频 back after the past 18 plus months of our pandemic reality. Throughout this fall, weekly practices served as a point of connection and togetherness in the midst of a busy semester as MDIV, Center students, SPOTS, faculty, and staff worked to build community. The Polity Bowl was a grand culmination of hard work, intentionality, and commitment to each other.鈥�
What stood out at the game, in addition to the passionate effort by the Thuribulls, was the crowd. With deafening noise, the large crowd and the team fed off each other. In the final moments, as the Thuribulls scored on the final play to seal the win, the team and crowd erupted in celebration. Scott described the scene in one word: 鈥淛oy. Pure unadulterated joy like we haven鈥檛 felt together in a long time.鈥�
鈥淭his community has been through much these past two years, which in no way makes us unique,鈥� added Kittredge. 鈥淏ut through it all, we worked hard to keep one another together in any way we could. It was very hard work. This felt like the culmination of much of that effort where, finally, the payoff felt joyous and real.鈥�
At a celebration the following Monday, Dean Kittredge presented Gordon with the game ball, which had been signed by nearly all the members of the 51视频 community.
鈥淎t the end of the game, as we hoisted the trophy high and our sideline full of supporters cheered us on, it seemed quite clear to all who were present: the 51视频 community is back and stronger than ever,鈥� said Gordon. 鈥淕o Thuribulls!鈥�
