Hoops for God: Priests take vocational awareness to the court

Kansas City, Mo., Apr 11, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Kansas City’s Runnin’ Revs basketball team recently overcame the Serra All Stars at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park. It was a close game, with the team of priests and seminarians catching the win, 54 to 52 over a team of junior high and high-school players from area Catholic schools.

Speaking with Kansas City’s diocesan newspaper, The Leaven, Fr. Brian Schieber compared his team to the Harlem Globetrotters. But while the goal of the Globetrotters is entertainment, the goal of Revs is to plant the seed of vocational possibility in the minds of young players and spectators.

“The kids might think that being a priest means they have to give up their hobbies and interests,” said Fr. Schieber. “But with the Revs, they can see, ‘Wow, priests can play basketball and do fun things.’”

Of course, the Revs’ games, like the Globetrotters, always include some shenanigans, like: controversial calls, including whistles blown for no particular reason, arbitrary fouls, the substitution of a referee with someone out of the stands and too many players on the court, anywhere from six to 30.

The games also includes some fundraising, including passing the hat at the end of the first quarter, and an auction

In the entire 11-year history of the series, the youthful Serra All Stars have never won a game against the Revs.

The Revs and the Serra All Stars will take to the court again May 1 at Hayden High School in Topeka.