You may or may not be a sports person- I understand that. If you are, I invite you to read on and see if you agree with my thoughts. If you are not, I invite you to read on and see if my thoughts change your perspective a bit.
Maybe you've never thought about sports as anything other than a waste of time. Sure, playing sports is a healthy pastime that provides good exercise and teaches teamwork to kids. But beyond that, maybe you don't see any value in having a favorite team. Sports fans spend lots of time and money on supporting a group of adults who earn ridiculous amounts of money for running around and playing a kids' game. Sports fans care too much about something that doesn't really matter. Non-christians go to sports games instead of church and worship athletes instead of God.
These are all fair points, but there is more to the story than you may have realized. I believe that people love sports because people want to be Christians.
Sports fans from any nation, from any economic class, or from any background can walk into a stadium and feel like they are home. They see a complete stranger who may look and talk very differently than they do, but they instantly feel a connection to that person simply because of their shirt or hat. They are united by their love and loyalty to their team, and they love gathering together to celebrate in days of triumph and console each other in days of loss. They encourage each other to keep the faith. And while a fan can support their team all alone, there is joy and community to be found when they cheer alongside fellow fans.
Does this remind you of anything?
I have been to several baseball games for my local team, and I really enjoy cheering them on. But once, only once, I attended a home game for my very favorite baseball team, and that was a completely different experience. Walking through the stadium, I felt like I was surrounded by friends. Looking around at the lights and the vendors and the field and the mega-screens, I felt like I was coming home. Singing during the seventh inning with thousands of people who love my team as much as I do, I felt a sense of belonging. Raising my voice with so many others to celebrate our cause, I felt such joy at being part of a community unlike anything else.
Well, anything except the church. The belonging, the joy, the connection, and the community that comes with being a sports fan is only a shadow of the belonging, joy, connection, and community that comes with being a Christian. I think that people love sports so much because it reminds them of a reality that is in their hearts but always out of their reach, the echoes of a song that they can't quite remember. We were all made for the joyful community of fellowship with God and other believers.
Next time you attend a sporting event or see one on TV, try to see the fans in a new light. Don't see them as crazy, immature fanatics. Instead, try to see people who are experiencing the tiniest taste of the joy you have found in Jesus. See people whose hearts are aching even as they celebrate, aching for that greater community with a greater cause and a greater celebration that will never end. See them and pray for them.
For those who are in Christ, let sports be a means to point you to the glory of the church. Enjoy being a sports fan and all that that entails, but don't stop there. Let your love for sports increase your love for the church as you see the infinite superiority of the latter over the former.
Everything people love about sports, they love because it reminds them of the church, whether they realize it or not. For unbelievers, sports can ultimately never satisfy their desires for purpose, belonging, and community. For believers, sports can either be a distraction from the cause that really matters, or it can be an arrow pointing to that best cause, best celebration, and best community.
Sports people, let us use this part of our lives to direct us to the Point of our lives. And to those of you who are not one of us, try not to judge sports fans too harshly. We love being sports fans because, deep deep down, it reminds us of being Christians.
(Go Red Sox.)
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