To the outsider, the college
football can seem a little intense, ludicrous, infantile...perhaps even
whimsical. But the fans themselves?
We replace our cell phone
ringtones with fight songs and our screensavers pop with images of stadiums and
players. Our wardrobes get limited to certain colors while others are avoided
entirely. At the water coolers, trash-talking becomes the new gossip.
We go to the games in person,
rarely flinching at high ticket prices. Or we watch it at home with friends. We
even flock to sports bars to cheer our teams with total strangers – who become
closer than family. We paint our faces. We don our jerseys. And when the
temperatures plummet, we strip out of our jerseys and paint our torsos. We
perform any number of rituals, which range from seemingly practical to utterly
ridiculous. Battle plans are drawn in the form of X’s and O’s and we laud our
coaches as gods and generals.
Yes, this is the Church of
College Football and its congregation, wherever we meet, is a fiercely loyal
group – true defenders of the faith. Should it ever be required, I would bleed
scarlet and gray. Someone else might bleed purple and gold while another might
even spare a few precious drops of orange and blue. Like Scripture, we recite
every statistic, win-loss record, championship count and sacred team history
any time and every time we feel compelled to share our gospel. And to ensure
that we’re always up-to-date, we receive real-time tweets and texts, 24-7, in
case anything crucial happens, as it happens!
Thank goodness we’re not the only
sports nuts around. After all, I’m pretty sure it was the Apostle Paul who
encouraged King David to run some sort of race in the book of Zechariah, but
the exact reference escapes me right now. I’d check my Bible to confirm, but
I’m not entirely sure where that’s at either.
A few years ago, this obsessive
football fanatic was hit with the stark reality that I knew more about my team
and the game in general, than I did about my Heavenly Father or the Playbook He
had written for us. Was I willing to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the
same voracity? Football, it seems, had become my idol.
So I began to take a long, hard
look at what being such a loyal fan had done for me. Okay, it wasn’t such a
long look because it had done nothing. But it was a hard one. I could quote
statistics all day long but the only Bible verse I knew for sure is found in
the book of John, verse 16 of chapter 3. “For God so loved the world that He
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but
have eternal life.” Incidentally, that’s also found on the homemade banners
hoisted in most end zones.
Ashamed, I knew it was time to
hit the bench.
God (who, in some circles
associated with, is really believed to be Woody Hayes) made me aware that
things were greatly askew in my life. I prayed. I repented and I began to
re-prioritize my life. I decided to fake the hand-off by grabbing my Bible
instead of the TV remote. I yielded to the Lord as my Head Coach. I made sure
that my family was in place as my offensive line. In this way, as quarterback,
I could do my job more effectively. Without these elements, I would be alone
and rendered ineffective.
Football jargon aside, the change
made a profound difference in my life. In fact, I enjoy spending time with my
wife and kids so much, there hasn’t been much room for football these last
couple of years. Of course, I still get the itch every fall and I’ll check the AP polls from time-to-time
but I just can’t bring myself to waste another Saturday on something that has
no eternal impact. Game over.
However, a new season looms on
the horizon.
Many times, God gives us a talent
or a passion that, until we understand and accept it as such, they become
hindrances. Once we do accept them, we need to lay them at Jesus’ feet – in
essence, giving them back. Sometimes He’ll keep them because we’ve already
squandered the blessing they were meant to become. Other times, He gives them
back graciously and full of His power. I’ve been blessed with one such instance.
A new couple has been attending
church recently. My wife, who is socially gifted in a way that I am not,
quickly became friends with the woman. We get the impression that she’s more
willing to reach out than her husband is. He’s quiet and usually doesn’t make
friends easily. He follows football, I’m told. But not just football, he
follows my team.
So I talked to him Sunday after
church and we instantly hit it off. It turns out that he’s not quiet – simply
put, nobody had been speaking his language! He made me promise to watch a few
games with him this season. I made him promise to join the Bible study group my
wife and I are starting next month.
Later in the afternoon, I
reflected on these things. In God’s goodness (and ultimately for His Glory),
He’s decided to call me off the bench. It’s fourth and long with only a few
seconds remaining and Creation’s great Head Coach (God, not Woody) calls for an end-around
flea-flicker combo.
Oh, how I love college football.
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