Sports

One of my Young Life guys took me a Red Sox vs White Sox game. I enjoy sports. Thoroughly. I played in high school and even college. I would say that I’m emotionally tied to teams and suffer actual pain when the Michigan State basketball team loses a game.

But, I’m not sure how much Jesus cares about sports. I think “coming through in the clutch” (stealing a bit from Wild at Heart here) is definitely something that resonates with him. And I love seeing people do what God created them to do, like we talked about in class. But oftentimes, despite my love for sports, I’m left questioning their real meaning and worth sometimes weighed against some of the downfalls of them within our society.

There’s so much shame in sports today. As much as you hear about a winning team or player you hear just as much about the team or player that “blew it”.

At this White Sox game, Curt Schilling took the mound in the 9th as a closer, and a guy behind me yelled “Hey Schilling! You suck! You’re a washed up BUM! A Has-Been!!! I hate you!!!” Now, I don’t want to read too much into this, because this guy was probably drunk and at the very least a stupid White Sox fan (coming as a loving joke from a Cubs fan). But, what other arena would you talk like this to another human being (especially one you don’t know)? I mean… first of all the guy is a great pitcher. He led the Red Sox to a World Series last year (oh, by the way, their first in 89 years) and he’s still pitching despite major injuries late in his career. He’s a class act. And this guy hates him? Why? Because he plays for the other team?

Maybe the fan doesn’t even really hate him. Maybe he’s just yelling. I yell lots of things during basketball games, and still would have to think about it if given the option to break Teddy Dupay’s legs. But, what makes me think that way? For all the intrinsic good in sports (the team aspect, camaraderie, staying out of trouble, building character, etc) there are some evils and dark places that if aren’t handled well can really become nasty.