I wish the Packers had an offense.
I wish the Packers had a defense.
I wish the Vikings didn't have either.
I wish the Vikings didn't have both.

I'm not really a football fan. I am, however, a Packer fan. It doesn't occur to me to watch football games in which the Packers aren't playing. Because I try to watch every game in which the Packers are playing, I know a few names of football players on other teams, and even some of the positions they play. My brother, who is both a football fan and a Packer fan, alternates between thinking it's kind of cool that I've come to love the Packers in my middle age and rolling his eyes at my ignorance of the sport in general.

I know a few things, a few rules. When I moved to Wyoming and decided to start following the Packers because it was a link with home, I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Football Like a Pro, which helped with the rules and penalties. And I have a few trusty internet sites with football glossaries on them so I don't have to be really, really, really stupid when I talk to people who know what they're talking about.

I wonder if my relationship with the Packers and football is like some people's relationship with Christ and his church. I have friends who don't go to church, who have never said much about what they believe, even though I've asked, but who forward to me and to a list of their friends every chain e-mail that asks for prayers or has a spiritual theme. It always touches me when they send these, almost as if they're acknowledging that we have something to share, even if it's somewhat vague and ephemeral.

They say in Wisconsin that Green Bay Packer football is its own religion. I can't say that they're wrong. So here's another wish:

I wish more people knew as much about and were as passionate about their Christian faith as they do and are about the Packers.

That kind of Spirit is something I'd love to experience.