Praying For A Home Team

A lot pf people have a hard time I guess wrapping their heads around the concept that the Vatican is actually a country, but that is what it is. I guess you could wear yourself out walking all through it in a day, but at just under one mile in total territory, you could easily do that. Only San Marino in all of Europe is smaller. Another similarity between these two countries is that they both are inside of, and therefore totally surrounded by, the nation of Italy.

Soon, if Pope Benedict has his way, they will have one more thing in common with not only San Marino, but another similarly tiny nation, Andorra-like them the Vatican will have it’s own soccer team. Yes, it seems the Pope is a rabid soccer fan, and so there has been some discussion lately of fielding a team from among the Catholic Churches many seminarians in Brazil and other South American nations.

I don’t know, it’s hard to picture the Pope or for that matter any of the country’s new team's potential fan base engaging in the brawling and rioting that typically ensues in so many soccer matches, particularly in Europe. Still, the Church still commands a sizeable international population of adherents, even in Europe, so this is not beyond the realm ofpossibility. I can’t help but be curious, though, just how the Church would deal with this potentially embarrassing phenomenon.

Now, for their names. They have a wide variety to choose from, more than you might imagine-

The Angels, The Saints, The Popes, The Cardinals, The Bishops, The Priests, The Monks, The Friars, The Crusaders. Or, they could go for a more modern appeal, with names, for example, like The Apocalypse, the Exorcism, the Prophecy, the Catechism.

They might want to stay away from such names as, The Choirboys, or The Martyrs.

They could always opt for a little humorous play on words, I guess, like “The Holy See Side”.

Yeah, I know, that’s fucking awful. I'll spare you my ideas as to possible team mascots.