t is easy to criticize sports, especially the big-business
national league franchises that fill hours of television coverage and reams
of newspaper space. But to criticize the way these corporations operate speaks
more of business practices than the nature of sports itself. There are a number
of features of sports that keep bringing us back to participate and watch it.
If approached with the right attitude, sports can teach us something of what
it means to be human, to work, to achieve, and even to be Christians:
1. It’s good for you. Exercise—and sports can be a
fun way to do that—is the simplest and best way to be healthier.
Little guys beating big guys. Size does not always
matter. “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong” (Eccl. 9:11,
NIV).
One-team players. Loyalty despite offers of more
money.
The last 100 meters of the 400 meters. If it’s
been run right, everything has been spent by then. But a champion runs on pure
heart. “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race
and complete the task the Lord Jesus had given me” (Acts 20:24, NIV).
A glimpse of eternity. How does the last minute
of a close game take so long?
Extremists. No frontiers, no fear, endless possibilities.
Little things matter. Observe the painstaking preparation
before a game or event.
Cliff-hangers. Three-point baskets on the buzzer;
homers at the bottom of the ninth; boundaries off the last ball; chipping in
on the eighteenth . . . The hope of a last-minute rescue.
The smell of a new football, new tennis balls,
a new baseball or basketball. The joy of new creation.
The swish shot, the crack of bat on ball, the perfect
drive. When it all goes right.
The intercept. Especially in the dying moments of a
game, especially when it changes the lead, especially when it’s scored by one
of the good guys. “Time and chance happen to them all” (Eccl. 9:11, NIV).
Learning to lose—but continually trying. “These were
all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised”
(Heb. 11:39, NIV).
It’s the only opportunity in life to revel in statistics—and
not be considered a dork.
Comebacks. Underdogs. When force of will matters more
than skill.
Anyone can do it.
You can’t buy a win (even though some might try). No
matter how hard you work, it is always a gift.
As you get closer to the venue, you quicken your steps,
as if drawn by an invisible force. Can we learn how to worship better?
The no-look pass. Teamwork, confidence, an element of
risk—and it comes off.
Focus and perseverance. “Let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us” (Heb. 12:1).
Learning to win. “A time to laugh . . . a time to dance
. . . a time to embrace” (Eccl. 3:4, 5, NIV).
—Very loosely adapted from “100 Reasons to Still Love Sport,” Inside Sport
88 (April 1999): 22-30.
t is easy to criticize sports, especially the big-business
national league franchises that fill hours of television coverage and reams
of newspaper space. But to criticize the way these corporations operate speaks
more of business practices than the nature of sports itself. There are a number
of features of sports that keep bringing us back to participate and watch it.
If approached with the right attitude, sports can teach us something of what
it means to be human, to work, to achieve, and even to be Christians:
