January 3, 2008

As the largest Christian sports ministry in the world, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes works with many athletes and coaches throughout sports, both professional and amateur. To bring attention to the outstanding achievements of Christian sports personalities throughout the year, FCA has compiled the Top 10 Christian Sports Stories of 2007.

It was a year of champions, great individual successes and stunning upsets. During these great occasions, Christian athletes and coaches seized the moment to proclaim their faith publicly. The FCA - the Heart & Soul in Sports - is pleased not just to present a list of heart-felt stories, but to celebrate the impact that these sports figures made on the world by utilizing their platform for God’s glory.

1. Tony Dungy leads Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl XLI Championship and talks on the victory stand about winning “the Lord’s way”; several months later, his book Quiet Strength hits No. 1 on New York Times Best-Seller List.

2. Zach Johnson stuns the golf world by winning the Masters; holding off the game’s top golfers with three birdies on the final six holes, Johnson earns the Green Jacket on Easter Sunday.

3. University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow becomes the first sophomore in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy. Tebow also wins the Maxwell Award for Collegiate Player of the Year.

4. University of Florida guard Lee Humphrey leads the Gators to their second consecutive NCAA men’s basketball title and sets the all-time NCAA Tournament record for three-point field goals with 47.

5. Jake Peavy of the San Diego Padres is named the National League Cy Young Award winner after winning a league-best 19 games and leading all of baseball’s starting pitchers in strikeouts (240) and ERA (2.54); also was the NL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.

6. Coach Jerry Moore leads Appalachian State to a stunning 34-32 upset of No. 5 Michigan in the college football season opener. The team goes on to win their third consecutive NCAA D-I National Title, the first in FCS/I-AA history.

7. Allyson Felix captures three gold medals in the World Track & Field Championships and produces the fastest 200 meter time in the world this year at 21.81 seconds.

8. Marathoner Ryan Hall shatters the U.S. Olympic trial marathon record and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in New York and becoming the youngest American winner (age 25) since Frank Shorter in 1972.

9. Former Utah Jazz player Derek Fisher (now with the Los Angeles Lakers) skips most of Game 2 of the 2007 Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors to be with his cancer-stricken daughter during surgery and returns to the court in the third quarter after a cross-country flight.

10. Kay Yow, North Carolina State University Head Women’s Basketball Coach, wins the 2007 Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance.