Sports Illustrated Gets Religion

March 24, 2012
Scott Gunn

A couple of days ago, the Supreme Executive Committee received a flash news alert from one of our intrepid Lent Madness Field Agents. Doug Allen of Lincoln, RI was the first one to report that Lent Madness is mentioned in this week's Sports Illustrated. Phil Taylor, in his last-page column, covers a range of brackets beyond the tired college basketball tourney. Under the headline "My Picks? Pulled Pork, Joan Of Arc," Taylor writes, "I am also religiously following lentmadness.org's bracket to determine which saint deserves the Golden Halo. (In their highly anticipated Saintly Sixteen meeting, Joan of Arc couldn't put much heat on Mary Magdalene.)"

We couldn't be happier, even before we learned (in a tweet from @SI_PhilTaylor to @scottagunn) that Taylor is the son of an Episcopal priest, now deceased. No doubt Taylor's father has heavenly box seats in the saintly smackdown as the action heats up heading into the Golden Halo championship.

The mainstream madness might get most of the TV coverage, but at least the grand dame of sports magazines has begun to cover the best athletic contest since Jacob wrestled. We can only hope that the infamous swimsuit issue will be redeemed by a Golden Halo profile issue next spring. And we do not wish to see any of the saints in swimwear.

Another venerable magazine failed to serve its readers well by neglecting Lent Madness. The Atlantic Monthly has a "battle of the brackets" going on right now, and they left out the best battle of them all! We encourage our readers to go leave comments (in prose or poetry) on their site to remind them that they should cover Lent Madness.

Last but not least in this week's media round-up, the Rev. Elizabeth Wheatley Dyson of the Diocese of Massachusetts has written about Lent Madness in the Wicked Local. Nicely done.

If you want major, global fame, get Lent Madness into your local, national, or global media source. We'll give you a shout out on the website and possibly even in the crown jewel of global media sensations, Monday Madness.

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6 comments on “Sports Illustrated Gets Religion”

  1. And we do not wish to see any of the saints in swimwear.

    Well, I've seen crucifixes before and they make it pretty clear that Our Lord had a great set of abs. I wouldn't count out the rest of the saints too soon...

  2. The Sports Illustrated article was also just posted on The Lead on The Episcopal Cafe.

    Go Lent Madness!

  3. Well, how kool is this? To be recognized once more by more national media! Way to go guys! I think I mentioned before I gave up FB for lent, in order to spend more meditative, prayer time... But Lent Madness has certainly helped me grow in my knowledge of saints, both known, and lesser known.. Thanks for the hard work. Who ever said being a priest was dull, glum work! Keep it up! I'll bet Hollywood will be calling soon!

  4. Hey, anybody can make Sports Illustrated. Think about how many people who have been on the cover that you cannot name.

    Check the March 23rd edition of the FultonKy News from Fulton County, Kentucky. You will find a nice article on Lent Madness.

    Lent Madness seems to be going worldwide and even into Appalachia.