A Canadian Superbowl MVP

This is Superbowl Sunday (that's a championship football game) and I've already picked an MVP. My choice is a player for the Kansas City Chiefs, the winning team last year. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a 29-year-old guard from Quebec who was signed to a five-year, $40 million (USD) contract, which means he's very good at playing his position. Not only is it unusual for a Canadian to play at such a high level in the NFL, Duvernay-Tardif is the first player in league history to qualify as a medical doctor -- well, he still has to complete a residency.

He would be in the big game again today except for the remarkable choice he made last year to take a season away from pro football to work as an orderly at a long-term care facility in Montreal; as his response to the COVID-19 crisis. It was an extraordinary act of generosity and self-giving which deserves our highest respect. 

Just the same, he downplayed his choice during a CBC The Current interview not long ago:  

 He described recognizing the "dedication" and "passion" of one nurse he worked with who regularly pulled overtime or started her shift early, at 4 a.m. "And nobody is there to, like, pat them on the back and say, 'Good job,' or give them awards or [an] opportunity to talk on the radio," Duvernay-Tardif said. "They're doing it because they really care. And so I feel like being humble — or at least trying to — is really the least I can do when I see all those people working like that."

He also observed that "Five years from now, I'm going to be able to look at 2020 and be like, 'Alright, I followed my conviction and I made a move that I'm going to be proud of.' " 

Apparently the Chiefs and Coach Andy Reid have been very supportive, and I hope he can return to football if that's his desire. I'm impressed that the NFL Hall of Fame has some of his nursing home gear in a display for Most Valuable Protectors. 

As a Christian the words of Jesus: "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it" certainly come to mind.