Peyton Manning flings a touchdown pass. Reggie Bush scampers for a score. A teen tosses a can of beans in a bin.
The first two feats will create headlines. The last will create hope.
Super Bowl XLIV meet Souper Bowl XX.
Worshippers at various churches in Utah and throughout the nation will take part this Sunday in the "Souper Bowl of Caring," an interfaith movement to exploit the hype of Big-Game Day to help the homeless and hungry.
Visitors to Ogden's Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd will find two big aluminum soup pots -- one labeled "Saints," the other "Colts" -- in the foyer. There, congregants can drop in cash or nonperishable food for area charities.
"Our focus in Sunday school this year has been on service," says Trisha Dirk, Good Shepherd's youth director. "Collecting for the hungry fits in nicely with the theme. Plus, having a little competition that ties into the Super Bowl makes it a little more fun."
Their donations will go to St. Anne Center's shelter and kitchen in Ogden.
The Souper Bowl was born 20 Super Bowls ago, when South Carolina pastor Brad Smith was writing his prayer for that January sabbath. He wanted to redeem the day from its gluttony, crass commercialism and overheated competition, yet recognized that many Christians would be tuning in to the game.
"Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game," Smith wrote, "help us be mindful of those who are without even a bowl
Smith calculated that if a fifth of the game's 100 million viewers gave $1 each to feed the hungry, it would raise $20 million.
He broached the idea with the youth group in his own Columbia church, Spring Valley Presbyterian. The youths circulated large soup pots to gather the donations as parishioners left worship services the morning of the game. The donated funds then were given to programs feeding the homeless or for other worthy causes.
Since then, religious young people have generated an extraordinary $60 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the nation, the Souper Bowl's Web site reports. Last year, the effort posted a new national record: $10.3 million in cash and food.
Teens at Granger Christian Church, 3232 W. 4100 South, have done this for six straight years, says Diana Baxter, youth minister.
Kids decorate boxes for each team and dress up in football jerseys to make their pitch. The congregation of about 100 typically takes in around $50 in cash and more than 120 cans. Donations go to the church's food pantry.
"Our youth are very mindful of their role in serving others within the community," Baxter says, "and the Souper Bowl of Caring is a fun and creative way to give them an opportunity to do just that."
For more information, go to www.souperbowl.org.
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