Brazil's World Cup plane was greeted by a dramatic water salute, reviving an age-old instinct to seek blessings.
As the FIFA World Cup fever mounts, the Brazilian team have gone that little extra mile to make sure they have a little heavenly help.
In the video below you'll see the impressive — and rather dramatic — "baptism" of the team plane before it headed to the United States.
Led by enthusiastic fire crews in Rio de Janeiro, powerful streams of water formed a giant archway over the aircraft as it prepared for takeoff, as shared by Yahoo!News. In fact, with all the water involved, we suspect that even a few passengers may have received an unexpected blessing along the way! The tradition is a long-standing aviation salute, intended to wish travelers good fortune (and even heavenly help) as they embark on an important journey.
Of course, if there is one nation that understands the importance of hope before a major tournament, it is Brazil.
The five-time World Cup champions arrive carrying the expectations of millions of supporters, all dreaming that this might be the year the famous yellow jersey lifts the trophy once again. And while the players will be relying primarily on talent, preparation, and teamwork over the coming weeks, there is something rather endearing about the idea that their journey began beneath a shower of water and good wishes.
Of course, no one is suggesting the aircraft received a true sacramental baptism. Yet the language people instinctively reached for was telling. The plane was not merely sprayed with water. It was "blessed." It was "baptized."
Perhaps that reveals something rather beautiful about human nature. Whenever we set off on an important journey, we seem unable to resist placing it under some form of protection, whether it be a saint, a family member, or God Himself. Throughout history people have blessed homes, ships, fields, fishing boats, wedding rings, and even animals. The object itself is rarely the point. What we are really doing is entrusting the people involved to God's care.
As millions of soccer fans are already hoping, dreaming, praying, and imagining what lies ahead, Brazil's "baptized" plane simply becomes a visible symbol of something supporters everywhere are already doing: placing their hopes on a journey whose outcome nobody can predict.
