Christianity is not something that usually comes up via the media in sports. It seems as though the media tries to avoid the two topics. Lately however there seems to be a resurgence of Christianity in sports - and not just in football with Tim Tebow. Tebow has received the most media coverage, but that's probably because Football is the most popular sport in the states.
Two other examples come to mind when I think of Christianity and sports, and they come in the form of Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks and James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs. All three of these athletes have been very adamant about their Christian faith, and they have not been afraid to express it to the world. Both Lin and Tebow have stated that if they were not played professional sports they would have become Christian missionaries.
How could one believe that sports and religion be connected? All three of these sports require a level of physicality which would be frowned upon by zealous Christians right? According to our reading this week by Tracey Trothen, the violence in sports actually connects it to religion. I'm not sure if I necessary believe this, but Trothen does make a good point. Christianity has been fueled by violence in the past, and even the base of our religion reflects Jesus' suffering on the cross. Trothen also uses a number of other examples of violence in the Christian faith, and reflects it to how athletes act in sports.
When I look at these three athletes in particular I see their drive to be the best possible athletes they can be in relation to their Christian faith. All three believe that God has helped them to get to this point, and that God will guide them on the field, ice, or court. All three pray after every big save, or play they make as well as pray after games - win or lose. They pray right on the ice and field, for the whole world to see.
Do I believe that these men are sincere in their acts of faith? Last week we had talked about celebrities and their expressions of faith, using Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga as examples. It seemed as though the entire class was reluctant to agree that these two express their faith in a legitimate manner - we as a class believed that these two singers had alterior motives.
As an athlete myself, I can say that sports brings out both your highest and lowest emotions right on the field. You get angry to a whole new level when someone on the other team injures one of your treammates on a dirty play, or when you lose the game on a buzzer beater. At the same, time you experience happiness in a whole new way when you tie the game in the last couple seconds, or you hit that walk-off homerun.
The difference between sports and the music industry is that while the music industry can sit there and analyze every aspect of their video and music, we witness sports the second they happen. We see the exact passion that the players are exhibiting on the field and there's no hiding it. When players like Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin, and James Reimer turn to God on the field, it's actually how they are expressing the passion that drives them . They use their Christian faith as a tool to get through the next period when the going gets tough, or as their guiding light when they need to keep a lead. All of these athletes are excellent examples of the passion of a combined sports and religion. Both have such strong influences it is no wonder why the fans get caught up in it too. Which is why we see this explosion of the topic in the media nowadays.
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