What Would Jesus... (Part 1)

The title of this post is not very good because I could not get myself to write one that would suggest that Jesus would have any interest in American football. But I guess to many this would not seem far fetched. Writers have recently told us about the diet Jesus would have been partial to. I believe it was a Mediterranean diet with emphasis on wine, olive oil, and fish. Another writer postulated that Jesus would probably drive a hybrid. Of course there are those bracelets that remind us to think about what Jesus would do. I saw a bumper sticker that asked "Who would Jesus bomb?"

I am a sports fan; a Tampa Bay Bucs fan from day one who saw lots of losses before seeing a win. I am still a Tampa fan and plan to remain loyal because that is what I think fans do. However, I'll admit to you that I don't think Jesus or God care much about football. I may be in the minority though. I hope some of you will share your thoughts. Your view on the matter could be that religion and football can be closely linked.

Two recent media successes can shed some light on the subject. The more minor of the two is “Facing the Giants,” a film produced by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia for $100,000. Using volunteer actors, the film has gone on to gross over 10 million dollars since 2006. It tells a comeback story of a football coach at a small Christian high school who looks like he is about to be put out to pasture. But, adopting a “With God, all things are possible” attitude, the team goes all the way to win the state championship. The story is fiction with some elements of truth included. For example, along the way to success, a local businessman not only dismounts the “fire the coach” bandwagon, but gives the coach a nice new pickup to replace his piece of junk sedan. This apparently happened to a coach in somewhere, GA. When you watch this film, pay attention of the “Catering” credit. It must be the longest on record. The making of the film must also have been the Super Bowl of covered dish events.

The second example is an even a larger success, Tony Dungy’s bestseller, Quiet Strength. This biography is true and chronicles Dungy’s path of success, adversity, personal tragedy, and eventual victory at the Super Bowl. All this is viewed in terms of his Christian faith.

To the credit of both Sherwood Baptist and Dungy, both make it clear that football is not the most important thing in life, and neither would agree with the Vince Lombardi quote, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” It is interesting to note that Jerry Izenberg reported that Lombardi told him, “I wish to hell I had never said the damned thing….”

But back to the game itself. A quick Google search will reveal hundreds of fans of “Facing the Giants.” Ninety percent sing the little film's praises in much the same way. “It has no nudity, profanity, or violence.” Or “no violence other than the normal violence associated with football.” Now wait a minute. Normal violence is okay on screen and off? Most seem to think so. One blog poster did state football should be banned from public and private schools, but his was a rather lonely voice. You do not need to seek to ban football to recognize that it is violent. Players have been paralyzed playing it. Young men die during controversial strenuous practices. But this violence just seems to fly under the radar or else be sloughed off as “normal.”

The violence is actually a plus to some that can traced back to nineteenth century “muscular Christianity.” This term was used in both positive and negative ways, but over time it became most associated with groups devoted to fitness of mind and body like the YMCA.

Christians don’t want to be too much of this world, but also don’t want to be so far out of step with society that they seem weird. At first there was some pulpit grumbling about the Super Bowl being on Sunday, but now churches have Super Bowl viewing parties. Not embracing football in our culture may just be too weird. Football may be the de facto religion of the nation.

ESPN’s Robert Lipsyte spoke with Jerry Falwell a few years ago. Falwell told him, “I think God wants you to be a winner in life, and that spills over into athletics. If kicking butts is part of it, that's part of it. Jesus was no sissy. If he played football, you'd be slow getting up after he tackled you."

So there is part one. I am eager to hear what you think.