For the last sixteen seasons the Green Bay
Packers have had one quarterback start
every one of their games. That’s
over 275 football games since the year
1992. Can you remember what you were
doing in the fall of 1992? I was
going into the fifth grade, I would
go to my third FDF the following February,
and I remember being mad at my parents for
not having taken me to see Batman Returns
the previous summer- but I don’t
remember too much else. Can you
imagine playing football year after year
since then? You’d have to have a
deep, deep love and passion for the game,
and have a body and mind that were fit to
play at one of the highest levels in
sports. The Packers have had a
player like this. You may have heard
of him. His name is Brett Favre.
The people of Wisconsin and all across
America have loved watching Number 4 take
snaps and make highlight plays year after
year… that is, until this year.
Brett and the Packers both decided it was
time for him to move on, and go to another
team. The team is now in a
transition, and another quarterback, a
local Bay Area guy named Aaron Rodgers
(you may have heard of him, Cal fans) is
stepping in to help guide the team to a
successful season.
We here at the Youth Office of the
Metropolis of San Francisco have a similar
situation. While my buddy Pete
Sotiras (you may have heard of him, Cal
fans…) is not exactly on anyone’s Top
Ten Quarterbacks Ever list, he has
faithfully done an awesome job pouring his
heart into being your Youth Director for
the last three years. If in the last
three years you’ve gone to St. Nicholas
Ranch, the Young Adult Ski Retreat, or
even happen to have been at your Church on
a Sunday when Metropolitan Gerasimos
visited, you know who Pete is, and the
great job he’s been doing. After a
successful three-year career as the
Metropolis Youth Director, Pete has gotten
married this summer to the wonderful Angie
Retelas, and by God’s grace will be
serving as a new priest in Belmont
starting this fall. Yeah, I agree,
that’s a way better reason to leave your
team than the one Brett gave his old team,
but let’s stay on topic here…
If you haven’t heard of me, I don’t
blame you. I’ve spent my entire
life in the wonderful Pacific Northwest in
the great city of Seattle, and the last
four years have been in Boston at our
seminary also studying for God’s holy
priesthood. My name is Niko Bekris.
And starting this fall, I will also be
married to a wonderful girl, my fiancé
Stella Zahariudakis, and starting my new
position as the new Metropolis Youth
Director, as well as parish assistant at
Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco.
Like I’m sure Mr. Rodgers feels on his
new team, I am as excited as a guy can be
to get going with this new year. I
love my fiancé, my family, and my
friends. I love sports, I love Greek
dancing, I love superhero movies, and
comic books. But most of all, I love
being an Orthodox Christian, and I know
you guys do, too. I don’t know how
long God wants my career to go for as the
starter on our team, but I know that I’m
going to do my best to be the best Youth
Director I can be for you guys. I
look forward to what exciting and fun
things God has in store for us in the
coming year, and I certainly hope that I
meet you who are reading this sometime
very soon. God bless.
