Grounded in faith, in the spotlight because of football, meet the Ertzes

World Champion and Super Bowl Champion, just a couple titles owned by professional sports power couple Julie and Zach Ertz.

What a week it has been footy fans … the husband of World Champion Julie Ertz, Zach Ertz, scored the go-ahead touchdown that won the Philadelphia Eagles their first ever Super Bowl. The Super Bowl may have been American football in its “finest” form, but the underlying layer was that of brilliant soccer irony.

The Ertzes aren’t the only professional sports power couple, but the way they’re covered in the media, both as masters of their own sports and as a couple, has been particularly noticeable over the past few weeks. After the Eagles won the Super Bowl, The Nutmeg News published an article with the headline, “Husband Of World Champion Julie Ertz Wins Regional Sports Trophy.”

For the irony-deficient among you, this is a comment on the innumerable times women’s accomplishments are presented to us through the filter of the accomplishments of their husbands or boyfriends. If Julie were to win the upcoming World Cup and the headline the next day read, “Wife of Super Bowl champion Zach Ertz wins World Cup,” it would be both upsetting and unsurprising.

And so it’s been refreshing to see Zach and Julie interact with one another over the past week. Zach is the first one to praise his wife’s talents, and likewise Julie is the first to celebrate her husband’s achievements. As they should, they consider themselves to be equals. This dynamic entered the spotlight two weeks ago, when Frank Isola praised Julie’s dedication for doing her job at the same time as her husband did his.

Julie was playing with the national team in a friendly against Denmark on Jan. 21, the first match of the new year for the USWNT. Ertz, the same lockdown defensive midfielder and ruthless in-the-box attacker as always, scored a goal in the USWNT’s 5-1 win. Ertz was locked in during the game, as any professional athlete would be. At the same time, Zach was playing against the Vikings for a ticket to the Super Bowl. Both games were important, both athletes are important. It’s that simple.

Call it a friendly if you will, but every game at the national level matters. The good news is, while many others still don’t seem to understand this, Julie and Zach do. There was no one happier for Zach on Sunday than Julie, and every time Julie takes the field there’s no one any more supportive than her husband.

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So what is it that keeps this couple so grounded, aware and on this continued path of growth? In an interview with The Tampa Bay Times, Zach and Julie credit finding the Connect Church in Cherry Hill, N.J.

“It’s important. If you’re able to build something on a strong foundation, you’re not going to be easily swayed,” Zach told The Tampa Bay Times. “That’s something we strive for, because the distance that we have to work through is extremely difficult. It can pull you away. It’s extremely tough. It’s extremely strenuous on our relationship. So being able to be rooted in ‘the word’ and hold each other accountable, it’s got to be much bigger than the two of us.”

Call them the American sports power couple of the times, if you will, but in doing so remember that although they have football in common, neither of their accomplishments are greater or smaller than the other’s.