From Pittsburgh-Genuflection has its origins not in the medieval church but in the medieval court. Bending on one knee expressed obeisance to the monarch. The church, ever given to eclecticism, was quick to adopt the practice, reasoning that what was good for the king was good for the King of Heaven. Since then, genuflection has been a standard aerobic exercise in liturgical churches.
I grew up in a high-church Episcopal parish in New York, where we were taught by our acolyte master and by the clergy in confirmation class that genuflection is an act of reverence by which we displayed bodily our theological belief in the Real Presence. Accordingly, we genuflected upon entering and leaving our pews, acknowledging the Blessed Sacrament reserved at the high altar. Genuflection also has been a sign of reverence for the mystery of the Incarnation. Accordingly, the congregation “took the knee” at the words of the Creed “and became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”
But the topic here is what we might dub “genuflection on the gridiron.” For we must recognize that football has a sacred liturgy of its own, complete with rites, rubrics, colorful vestments, participants playing various roles, masters of ceremonies, musicians and a choir and congregation that intone prescribed chants.
More here-
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2017/11/12/Genuflection-on-the-gridiron-protest-in-the-liturgy-The-Rev-Harold-T-Lewis/stories/201711300007
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