The Black Nazarene was a football player?

WHAT sport or sports could Jesus Christ--whether as Christ of the Andes or Black Nazarene--could have possibly played before He embarked on saving mankind from the sins of the world?

In all His not so many years on Earth, practically nothing has been said of what JC liked and did not like as a young man, whether in sports or music.

( He would forgive the audacity of this corner calling Him by His initials because, for one, he would have possibly balked at being addressed as Kuya, anyway not by this believer who is of, well, legal age, meaning much, much older than Him had they lived in the same millennium).

If he played basketball, granting that the game was already being played then, he would not have been necessarily the Michael Jordan of his time because his representation in pictures and sculptures and other media paints a guy who is not very tall.

Probably, JC could have been Tony Parker, if he were black, just the right height and the charisma and good looks to match the San Antonio Spurs’ NBA star.

If Jesus Christ was a footballer, allowing that the beautiful game existed more than 2,000 years ago, then he could have been Lionel Messi, who is also not very tall, or the Brazilian Neymar, who is a little bit taller than the Argentine superstar.

Given that JC, this time as the Angry Christ of Negros Occidental or the Jesus Christ at the University of the Philippines church in Diliman, Quezon City, is also believed to have the divine power to walk on water, multiply bread, revive persons from the dead and perform other miracles only He was capable of pulling off, then he could be Stephen Curry or Cristiano Ronaldo.

If he was either the Golden State Warriors modern- day legend or the Real Madrid superstar many times over (with apologies to Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and other football near-greats), it would have been understandable because if you are able to do the impossible, then you could be anything or anybody beyond the reach of mortals--hat tricks or three-pointers and all.

JC, of course, would have wanted to play fair and, so, he would have left his bag of miracles at home and play just like another footballer (who gets kicked in you know what) or hoopster (who gets elbowed also in you know what).

have shielded his teammates from opponents bent on winning at all cost, no matter who gets seriously hurt and where.

Yes, winning is not everything, JC tells us.

If that was all that basketball or football meant to Him, then we would not be awe-struck at why Filipinos are so passionately devoted to the Black Nazarene.

Losing was par for the course for Him, otherwise we would have been lost to the world and He would not have submitted his mortal body to be nailed on the Cross.