Touchdown Jesus
The King of Kings, The Word of Life, Jesus Loves His Saints
There are a few renditions of a figure affectionately known as “Touchdown Jesus,” images of Jesus with His arms outstretched and high in the air, much like a referee signaling a touchdown in a football game. One rendition is located in Butler County, Ohio, near the Solid Rock Church, where Touchdown Jesus is a 60 feet high statue of Jesus. The singer Heywood Banks has written a clever song about this Touchdown Jesus and he also names Him “Sweet Cream Jesus” and “Imperial Jesus,” among other names. And at the University of Notre Dame, there is another Touchdown Jesus, which is a mural of a similar image, conceived by the artist Millard Sheets. The mural is 134 feet high and is comprised of over 33,000 colors. It was created in 1964 and is located outside Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library. Educators and students alike at Notre Dame revere the mural, and some say it has a “kaleidoscope of personalities,” that include images of “saints and scholars” from throughout the ages. Tributes to “Touchdown Jesus” can also be found on MySpace and Facebook, where He has legions of fans, who happily spread the “Word of Life” with their love for Touchdown Jesus. © 2010