By Fr. Pablo Hughes, OMI

There was no need in spending time crossing the pond and spending boodles of money in poodle-packed Paris, for here in Brownsville we celebrated a high style OLYMPICS with the GAMES of TEXAS featuring our own Fr. Kevin Collins as the number one attraction.

A long-time swimming enthusiast, he competed in four events, 50-yard Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle, and Hundred-yard medley. Knifing through the waters like a barracuda chasing its prey, you could easily imagine seeing another Michel Phelps, Mark Spitz or even the great 1924 Olympic champion and silver screen hero, Johnny Weissmuller of Tarzan fame!

The GAMES OF TEXAS are an annual 3-day statewide competition involving more than fifteen different sporting activities with qualifying competitors. Brownsville was the host city for the swimming venue receiving more than 200 male statewide contestants participating in some 35 different ‘heats’. Ages ranged from 6-year-olds and other categories to those over 50 (P.S. Fr. Kevin was one year shy of the oldest participants) The GAMES are very much like a mini annual Olympics, Texas style! 

After competing, he emerged from the pool tired but triumphant and he was greeted by hordes of parish fans roaring to the rafters… “GO PADRE KEVIN!” along with hungry autograph seekers. Entering the winner’s circle, his neck buckled under the weight of gold medals and was given a fist full of rings that even ‘numero uno’ G.O.A.T , TB-12 (Tom Brady #12) would blush with envy over Fr. Kevin’s athletic prowess. At the following Sunday Mass he was given the well-deserved praise from the proud parishioners over their own Olympic Champion.

Aside from this hyperbolic literary report, Fr. Kevin’s participation in such a swimming event clearly underscores the need for all of us to keep in shape, both spiritually and physically. In an era when aging seems to be a disqualifying attribute, his athletic ability challenges all of us to keep physically active whether by walking, dancing Zumba, or doing the dog paddle in the pool. In the spirit of this year’s Paris Olympic hosts, they would probably be more esthetically blunt, “Get off your derrière…ALLONS-Y, just move it!”