Football season is over! Well, maybe not for everybody, but I think it is for me. The biggest game of the year is still a couple of weeks away, but I don't think I care.
Since I was a boy I have been a huge fan of the Minnesota Vikings (remember the Purple People Eaters and "Injun Joe Kapp" and the amazing Fran Tarkenton?), and almost as big a fan of the Oklahoma Sooners. Since returning to Tennessee five years ago, I've also joined the frenzy of home town fans cheering for the Titans. Last week promised great excitement as all three of my favorite teams were playing in postseason games. The Vikings were hosting a first round playoff game for the first time in several years. The Sooners were taking the highest scoring offense in college football history to the BCS championship game. And then the Titans, arguably the best team in the NFL, would host a second round playoff game they were sure to win.
On Sunday the Vikes fumbled the game away. On Thursday the Sooners did the same. And on Saturday the Titans joined the parade of disaster. All three! In one week!
And this is the second time this happened this year! I've been fortunate to live in three major league baseball towns. Over the years I've been a fan of the Cubs and White Sox in Chicago, the Brewers in Milwaukee, and the Astros in Houston. At the end of the baseball season, three of those teams made the playoffs. That meant I had a 3 in 8 chance of one of my teams making the World Series. How exciting!
In their opening series, the Cubs, Sox, and Brewers managed to win one game. Not one series . . . one game! Not one game a piece, one game period.
How do I describe the feelings? Heartbreak . . . disbelief . . . anger . . . frustration . . . depression . . . despair . . . A season of excitement and anticipation and hope crashing into the agony of defeat. Not once, but three times at the end of two seasons! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!
Why do I subject myself to this? The odds are that no matter who you cheer for, your team will only occasionally make the playoffs and almost always lose their last big game (you know, in most sports only one team each year wins their last game). Sports brings lots of fun and excitement, but lots of disappointment too (at least I'm not a Detroit Lions fan!).
I wonder what it would be like if I regularly found myself as excited and passionate about worship, about the kingdom, about time with God as I get about sports. (Do even Pentecostals get that excited about worship?) I'm pretty sure God would not leave me as disappointed at the end of each season. I love the sign on a Wisconsin church that says, "Jesus will never leave you for the Jets!" (If you don't get that, you're probably not a sports fan. Try googling "Brett Favre.")
So I've decided to devote more time and energy to more fulfilling, life-enriching, spiritually enhancing pursuits. And to never again get this wrapped up in sports.
At least not till March Madness.
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2 comments:
Rob,
You might be amazed but 2008 was the first year "in my memory" that home games for the Lions were not sold out. Like dedicated Cub fans their our team like them or not.
Keith Price
Detroit, MI
Keith,
As a long-suffering Cubs fan, I feel your pain. And I respect your loyalty. Detroit is known for its great fans. Hope you get something exciting to cheer for soon (just not at the expense of my Vikes!).
Rob
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