Go Team Go...Maybe

  One of the things I really enjoy doing is being on Facebook and Twitter during sporting events.  I really enjoy seeing all the comments and reactions to a particular game.  This really was evident last night while I was watching the Royals/Athletics play in game.  Not only was the game one for the ages, but the comments and reactions were just as good.  One of the things that I find fascinating is that one play can have many different interpretations, it all depends who you are rooting for and what your interest are.  I think there are several reasons why we are so passionate about sports. 

  The first thing is that it gives us something to hope in.  If you are a sports fan, hope is what drives us to watch and to cheer for that particular team.  It is a hope that our team will win, make the playoffs and win the championship.  I think this hope is based on the notion that there is something greater then the mundane life that we live.  It is wanting something more than what we have right now.  I think this hope is based on our failures, unfulfilled dreams, or that someone or a group of people can achieve something greater than we can ever do or imagine. 

  Another concept of hope is that hope connects people. In a world of social media and cell phones that can connect us to people around the world instantly, there are studies that show that we are a people that do not connect well with other people on an personal and intimate level.  We all want to belong to something, and to cheer for a cause that is bigger than us.  When we cheer for a particular team, it gives us connection to other people, because it gives us something to talk about.  I can tell you how many conversations that I have had that have been started over something dealing with sports.   But there is a danger because our sports teams can give us this false sense of community and connectivity.  If all we talk about is sports and nothing of importance, we are missing out on a deeper relationship.  There is nothing wrong with watching the game or playing fantasy sports, but if that's all we do, we are missing out on a deeper relationships. I think as a society, we are content with knowing the useless facts and not digging deeper.  True hope is where both people are actively engaged in the relationship and it is not one sided.

  The second thing that sports does is that it gives us a sense of right or wrong.  In a society that constantly demands moral relativism in all aspects of it, we turn to sports for absolutes.  I know that every rule can be left up to interpretation just like the strike zone and the unwritten rules of baseball, but we long for concrete absolutes.  We crave for to know what is right and wrong and to live by those standards.  Sports gives us those absolutes, whether it is ten yards for a first down, three strikes is an out, or three twenty minute periods in hockey.  As people we crave for standards to live by and not have things debated on right and wrong.  Don't get me wrong, there still is plenty of this in sports, just as in life, but this still doesn't stop for us wanting and needing these absolute things to believe in and live by. 

  The third thing that sports can do for us is that it is an escape.  We all need a break from reality and sports gives a chance to break away from the day in and day out of life.  It is a chance to relax and enjoy something with other people.  There is nothing wrong with watching a football game, but when we are using these things to not deal with issues, it becomes a problem.  We all have our escapes, whether sports, food, alcohol or other things.  We can make the shift from just taking a break, to life stinks and I don't want to deal with it.  We spend so much time doing these things because we don't want to deal with reality.  Life is so much better when we deal with these things, it may not be easy, but life will be worth while.

  The fourth thing and the last thing is that sports is a reflection of our culture.  By far football is Americas most popular sport.  What sells us on football is sex and violence.  Whether it is the television advertisements promoting sex and violence, to the players wanting to obliterate each other.  How often do we act out towards each other.  We may not be punching each other, but what we say to each other or behind each others back is just as damning.  There is also a segment in sports where they live by the mantra of "its not cheating unless you get caught."  As Americans, we have embraced that saying and use it often.  It is the attitude that I will do anything to improve, just as long as I don get caught doing wrong. 

  Recently the NFL has been in the line of fire of the American public for spouse and child abuse.  There has ben a public outrage over these things and as well as they should be, but here is the thing, we can condemn the players for doing this, but if we were doing the same thing, would we want the same condemnation.  If I were to venture to guess, there are plenty of child and spousal abuse cases that do not get reported or cared about because the people aren't famous and that is wrong and a double standard. 

  I could probably go on, but here is the thing, sports are not the end all be all.  The only thing that gives us true meaning and hope is through having a relationship with God through Jesus and being in healthy relationship with others, because nothing else matters