I was listening to ESPN radio today on the way to play ping pong. They were talking about the upcoming NFL combine, where draft prospects work out for NFL scouts and try to impress them. The show host asked a guest something like, “So how do you feel about the fact that the Reggie Bushes and the Matt Leinarts and the Vince Youngs will be there, but they aren’t going to work out?”

My question is much more significant: are there more than one of each guy? Why the pluralizing? Can the first two teams each get a Reggie Bush?

When Ron Artest was being shopped around, and some people were calling him one of the best players in the NBA, I heard a different ESPN announcer say, “Artest is good, but he’s not in the same category as the Kobes and the Tim Duncans and the Shaqs and the Lebrons and the Dwayne Wades and the Kevin Garnetts.” What? There’s more than one Kobe? More than one Shaq? Do the alternate Kobes and Shaqs also hate each other?

This is something you rarely see in writing, but you hear spoken all the time. Doesn’t make sense to me why people do it. Imagine saying, “May can be a hot month, but it doesn’t compare to the Junes and Julys and Augusts.” If there’s only one of something, why talk as if there are many of them?

• “There are many great heroes in the Bible. I’m talking about the Gideons and the Davids and the Abrahams and the Solomons and the Apostles Pauls.”
• “The King James is a popular Bible, but I’d recommend a contemporary version, something like the NIVs or the Living Bibles.”
• “After Jesus was crucified, the disciples–the Peters, the Johns, the Bartholomews, the Jameses–hid in fear.”
• “I enjoy being around the other members of the worship team–the Terrys, Tims, Chrises, Larrys, Jodys, Marshas, Pams, and Daves.”
• “My two all-time favorite situations comedies are the Seinfields and the Mashes.”

Okay, so this is a silly thing people do. I’ve made my point. I’m trying to figure out why this affects God’s eternal purposes on earth–you know, the world evangelizations and the social justices and the discipleships and the eternal lifes–but I’m coming up empty.