I struggle with sports. On one hand I really enjoy them. The primary station I listen to on the radio in the car is ESPN. The first thing I look for when I have access to television is ESPN. Sports Illustrated comes weekly and I devour it while letting hot water run down my back in the shower for far too long. The Olympics seem to draw humanity peacefully toward each other for a few short weeks every 2 years. I think I may one day actually enjoy the World Cup as well.
On the other hand sports really upset me. Not sports in general, but more what we as a society have done with them. In less than one week the Superbowl will take center stage. Last year over 111.5 million people watched the game. In fact, during the NFL regular season, each game averaged 17.6 million viewers. Assuming there were five games broadcasted in any given area in any given week 88 million people tuned into at least one NFL game.
According to Gallup figures, 118 million people say they go to church each week. Two sociologists named Kirk Hadaway and Penny Marler thought that was a fishy number. They thought that people probably exaggerate how often they go to church. They did their own study in 2010 and found that only about 63 million people in the U.S. are actually in church on Sunday. If you think that there's surely been an increase in attendance since 2010 you would be right...if you're Mormon, Jehova's Witness, Muslim, Buddhist, or Wiccan (which is the fastest growing group). If you prefer Jesus to magic hats, Allah, Buddha, or the earth however, you're soon going to find yourself in the minority.
That's really mean to the NFL who, let's face it, is just doing what it's supposed to do. Let me be clear, I have absolutely no problem with a business being really good at what they do. We need that. We really do. I point out those numbers only to point out what I think my real, true beef with sports is; we idolize them. You, me, and well, the majority of people in America. I don't need the NFL, NBA, or MLB to show me that. Each week I watch as families are torn apart by athletics. When I write family I'm referring to the ecumenical church family.
Each week I watch as families, who without a doubt love Jesus very much, choose out of corporate worship for months at a time because their athletic schedules conflict. I listened as one student pleaded with her mom saying, "Please let me skip my game and go tonight [to youth group]." Her mom replied, "You have to think about your team." She doesn't see her church family as a team that's every bit as important. She doesn't see the church's mission as being as important as the sport's team's mission. At some point we have to call it what it is. At some point we have to admit that sports has become a corporate idol.
I could write about how the church has largely fought against this by trying to compete with sports and outdo them with entertainment, but that's a different post. Instead I want to tell you why I still justify my love of sports.
When I watch the video of the 2008 Olympics men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay I can't help but get a sense of deep pride. I remember watching it live and feeling ecstatic. Why? It's the answer to that question that brings redemption to sports in my mind.
At first glance the pride you feel is for what? Our four guys were faster than your four guys? Our four guys had more spirit? America is clearly better than France? By the way, we didn't need a swim meet to tell us that. To be honest, I think most of us were shocked that the French team didn't hoist a white flag after the first leg of the race.
I believe the pride you feel points to something greater. I think it's the fact that you can be connected to something so amazing. I'm part of a country that can produce such amazing athletes! I'm part of the country that could come from behind in a race for the ages. Somehow you have a stake in the outcome of that race. Somehow by them winning, YOU have won.
Living in eastern Iowa, I still see scores from Wilton games. I love it when they win. Why? For the same reason. I have a legacy there. Those athletes are my people. They are my tribe. If they are great, I am great.
Go Dutch! AmIright?
I think it's this type of community that points toward something bigger. Community is good. In fact, God loves community. I think it's a real small glimpse of what's to come. It's joy experienced because someone you are connected to is experiencing joy.
My memories of these moments in sports are many, but the ones that stick out don't have videos. At least not videos that I have access to.
I remember throwing a touchdown pass to Will Norton in jr. high off a sweep pass. I remember steeling an inbound pass against Tipton with 6 seconds left and scoring a layup to win the game just before time ran out. I remember hitting my first home run in your wife's hometown. I remember hitting my first home run in high school which also happened to be with bases loaded.
I remember Solon having bases loaded and I was playing short-stop (don't ask). We were up one run and there was one out. They hit a line drive, I jumped and sno-coned it, then pegged the runner at first for a double-play. We were in jr. high and playing at Westview. It was the same season Wade Hagen told us we played like whale shit...the lowest thing on the planet.
To be honest I remember every home run I've ever hit. Mark McGuire was once asked how does it feel to hit a home run and he responded, "It's better than sex." In my experience that's not even close to true.
I remember watching you throw a rope to home plate from right field. I think you were playing Williamsburg. I remember the fence in center-field was painted white which was totally annoying your team. We were sitting down the right field line and I remember thinking, "Wow. I had no idea." In fact, I think that was the same game you hit the ball off the top of the wall. It was about 1 inch from being a home run. If I remember correctly, no one on your team could hit the ball that day.
I remember Josh Petersen's first home run at Iowa City Regina. Random? Yes, but crystal clear in my mind.
I remember Aaron Call hitting a home run in West Liberty that no one ever saw come down. It left the park above the lights. This isn't a big fish story. Honestly, the headline in the newspaper even pointed that out. I've never seen anything like it...except for...
I remember Jeremy Weigh (can't remember how he spelled it) hit a monster out of Principal Park. Of course this takes me to about a million memories of Jaron's undefeated season. I could name all of them or I could just talk about the amazing play at the plate in Regina. There was the magic pop-up dropped at PV, and Jaron's slide into first base at, among many, the state baseball tournament.
In the future I'm going to tell you about my basketball team that I coached this year. I'm now on a different side of sports. I pray all the time that I can keep them in their proper place within our list of priorities as my children get older.
I love sports, and I hate them.
I think that individual athletes can be either great for a sport or horrific for it. I would like to know who your all-time favorites are and why. Who are your top one or two athletes in the three major sports in America; baseball, football, basketball? Why are they your favorite?
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