The religion of Sports

Disclaimer (I always seem to have a lot of these): I am a fan of sports- I like them a lot, and I watch sports often. I'm not knocking sports.

I am a die hard Boston Red Sox fan! I was so happy on Wednesday, October 27! I almost wet myself when the final out was made- ok, so maybe not quite that extreme. But you get the idea- 86 years was too long to wait- the 23 years of my life was too long to wait to see my team hoist the coveted World Champion trophy over their heads!

I am also a New England Patriots fan, and have been as long as I've been even remotely interested in football. I was proud to be able to gloat in faces when they beat the Rams in 2002- particularly one person who told me that "the score is going to be 28-0 for the Rams... at the end of the first quarter!" Well- shoving in his face the Patriots unlikely victory was huge- and then another two years later was wonderful.

I was too young to remember other Boston sports victories... The celtics partcularly, for the Bruins have not won since before I was born. I even watched the New England Revolution play for the MLS cup a few years back- which was pretty cool.

And I love more than just Boston sports- I went to Messiah College. And do they ever have quality sports programs- Soccer teams consistently in the top 25 with 2 national championships for the men when I was a student- Basketball teams that had our women going to the national championship one year when i was there, and always a competitor.

Point being- I think sports are cool. I think they make life more interesting. When I had roommates whom I seemed to have nothing in common with, sports was there. But where do we draw the line of importance? I live in PA- and the big thing I hear a lot of people talk about is the religion of Penn State. And I know it's worse elsewhere. I had a professor from Alabama who loved it when ESPN did a special about how above all the churches there are in Alabama, none is as large or has people as die hard committed to it as the Alabama football stadium.

So do we have a religious affiliation of sports? In our society, atheletes are among the highest paid individuals, with the highest profile, and with the greatest ability to sell items. Everyone wants to be like Michael Jordan, so when he advertises something, we do not hesitate to buy it. Sundays are spent all too often, particularly in the fall, in front of the television- watching the sacred NFL do it's thing. 1.5 million people showed up for the Patriots parade through Boston- and there are estimates of upwards of 5 million for the Red Sox parade through town.

Could it be that we have a higher devotion to our sports than we do to our church- nay, our God? My fiancee used to be a cheerleader, and with the younger children's football/cheerleader programs in this area, there were Sunday games sometimes. And her parents told her that if there was a Sunday game, she sat on the bench for the first half because there was no way she was leaving church early or skipping church to be there. But we see people now who have unquestioned devotion to their sport.

One person in our congregation shared with me they wouldn't be in church one sunday because of the student's soccer game. They told me that it was the only Sunday game, so the only Sunday he would miss. If it were me, it's the only Sunday game, so it's the only game I have to miss because of church. Which is the priority here? I understand comittment to something you're involved in, but should our devotion and comittment to God be higher than anything else? Are we soccer players first, and then Christians?

My friend once said that he'd rather be a soccer coach than a youth pastor- and after hearing his reasons, I agree. I must tone down my required comittment, must tone down how much I require because I work within the church. A soccer coach can have unquestioned comittment, and require some of the toughest things from their players, but I cannot because, ultimately, church is an option for people.

It's easier to comitt 20 hours a week to soccer practice and games than it is to comitt 2 hours to church, or youth group. Somewhere in recent years, 20 hours of comittment became more acceptable and easier than 2-4 hours. And yet people will still pay lip service and tell you that Church and God are the most important thing in their lives.

Action speak louder than words, people.