The 2016-17 Sacred Heart Lions placed second in a national
all-seminary tournament. They are joined by a team of priests,
Leo the mascot, and honorary coach Sr. Mary Finn, HVM.
AN AUDIE N C E O F ON E
Glorifying God comes first for Lions basketball team
Matthew Wagner
D
URING MY JUNIOR YEAR of seminary studies
in Minnesota, I vividly remember facing the Sacred
Heart Lions in basketball at an annual seminary basketball
tournament. As our team trailed by more than twenty points,
I looked over the bench at an unconventional coach Fr. John
McDermott SJ, accompanied by a tall mascot, “Leo the Lion,”
who I would find out later is a current classmate of mine here
at Sacred Heart and has turned out to be a great friend.
I knew with confidence that we would
be defeated by the Sacred Heart Lions that
day. What I didn’t know was that I would
be joining that same basketball team only
in a matter of years, and that some of the
men that I had played against then I would
eventually recognize as my brothers now.
Everybody’s Welcome
We have a group of about fifteen men
who meet twice a week for practice, and
meet throughout most weekends from No-
vember through February for scrimmages,
games, and tournaments. Our competitors
are diverse: we scrimmage a team from a
18
seminary in Texas, a team of priests of the
Archdiocese of Detroit, and even a team
of FBI members. No game is an easy game;
we approach each opponent with a unique
game plan and strategy.
Playing basketball at Sacred Heart
unites men from both the college and the
theologate, banding together players who
have a wide range of experience with the
sport. While some come onto the team
having played in high school or college,
others may have never played organized
basketball in their lives.
Both types are welcome, and both types
are encouraged to play. As a team we
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017
practice and as a team we improve.
The season concludes with two tourna-
ments that take place shortly after return-
ing for our second semester of studies.
Mundelein Seminary, which is just north
of Chicago, and the Pontifical College of
the Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, host
a number of seminaries from across the
United States.
Bringing in hundreds of men who are
all in formation and studying for the
priesthood, these two tournaments are un-
doubtedly the highlights of the season for
all of us. What would otherwise be nor-
mal weekends at Sacred Heart are spent
as a team of brothers who take the time
to travel, eat, pray, and compete together.
It’s a privilege to be a part of such a
varied group of men who work diligently
throughout the season to build up one an-
other individually and as a team. We need
each person on the team that God has
brought together, and the season wouldn’t
be the same without those very people.
Playing with a Purpose
While we play so as to win, we also
play—first and foremost—to glorify God.
It’s evident that each of my teammates
places Jesus Christ at the center of his rea-
son for playing and his reason for living.