I am passionate about God. I continue to grow in my faith by helping out with my old youth group when and wherever I can (playing guitar for Sunday School, leading retreats, etc.). I also occasionally work at a bible camp, no big deal. I learn more about the love of God everyday and do my best to follow in Jesus' footsteps.
Is it possible to be inspired by both God and sports? Absolutely. You can identify with a sports team that you enjoy watching and still put God at the center of your life. So why do people who don't like sports put us fanatics down for "over-glorifying" our favorite teams and athletes? The answer is easy to see on the negative side of things:
The Vancouver Riots-2011: After losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the fans of the Vancouver Canucks took to the streets of Vancouver BC, showing their "disappointment" of the loss.
Ray Rice and other NFL Scandals: The National Football League has been through a slew of scandals in the recent years and has created a lot of public backlash on the league.
The Decision: After hearing that LeBron James is taking his talents to South Beach, Cleveland Cavaliers fans took the news hard by burning his jersey.
NOTE: All is forgiven once "King" James returns.
We get it. Bad things have happened because people get too involved in their passion for sports. We are only human. We all make mistakes. And the athletes that we know and love (or even strongly dislike) are human too. They think and feel and breathe just as we do. Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, also known as "Superman," was recently in a car wreck that gave him two fractures in his back that could likely end his season. Personally, I am not a fan of Cam Newton. I could sit here and laugh at the Panthers' playoff chances. But that's not what Jesus would do. Jesus would not sit there and say, "Sucks to suck" (although it may feel like that sometimes). Jesus would heal Cam, just as Jesus had performed many miracles in his life on Earth. Since I am no healer, and certainly not Jesus, I can show compassion to Cam and the others affected by the wreck by praying for a quick recovery for each of them. Many NFL players and Carolina teammates took to Twitter offering their prayers. The list even included Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. I may be a little biased, but Russell Wilson epitomizes what it means to be a professional athlete and a devout Christian. After winning the most glorified sporting event ever, the Super Bowl, he took all of that glory and fame and gave it to his teammates and us the 12th Man. After games, you could also see Russell with a group of teammates and players from the other team joined in prayer on the field. In his free time, Russell likes walking his dogs, studying more film and, more importantly, visiting children's hospitals. While there are athletes who throw their money around and want to be thugs, there are still athletes everywhere like Russell who deflect any glory from themselves, lead a godly life and contribute positive things to society. I could say that I'm the biggest 12th Man (which is far from true). Instead, I'm going to thank God for giving us athletes like Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seahawks who make watching football so much more enjoyable.
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