The Quarterback I Really Admire

Tonight, the Bengals play the Lions in their second preseason game.

You might think that my sights will be set on Carson Palmer. Nope. I will be watching the Lion's starting quarterback, Jon Kitna.

Without a doubt, Kit is my favorite active athlete. He is a committed Christian. Football simply is the stage for him to display his passionate commitment for Christ. Jon says, “My mission is to do whatever I can to be obedient to Christ and further His Gospel; tell people about the things He’s done in my life and the things He can do in their life.”

Since Kitna joined the Lions in '06 (after four years with Cincinnati Bengals) one blogger has noted that 20 players have given their lives to Christ. Last year, I actually heard Jon in an interview celebrate the fact that the marriages of teammates were being healed. I love what makes this athlete tick.

A blogger from http://jcsuperstars.wordpress.com/ did a really good job of capturing the heart and mind of Jon. Check out this, Christ turns Kitna's Life Around and this, Jesus Is My Coach. One of my great privileges was to meet Jon when he was with the Bengals. He was gracious enough to be pictured with me.

Carson Palmer and Jon Kitna are close Christian brothers. The Battle of the Big Cats (Lions and Bengals) will be fun to watch.