It seems like year after year I find myself
in the same situation during the month of
January. I welcome the New Year and
the time off of school or (these days) work
that comes with it, then after going through
my usual routine each week, I welcome a
restful sleep on Friday night, and a day off
on Saturday. On the first Saturday of
the month, I wake up and come to the
startling and very welcome realization:
“Football.” If you’re a football fan
you know that the NFL starts its playoffs
every January on Saturdays and Sundays, all
of which culminate at the end of the month
in the largest spectacle in all of American
sports, the Super Bowl. What this
means for avid NFL fans like myself is high
excitement, high entertainment, and a
celebration of human athleticism that people
have enjoyed since the contests and battles
of the ancient world.
Legends and superstars are created during
Super Bowls and other championship games,
and rightfully so. These legends often
become our role models, too, in many cases,
because we admire what they do during their
games and we want to be like them.
Often they have very good traits to imitate-
their ambition, their determination, perhaps
even their good will towards their teammates
or the other team. However, often
these same athletes possess qualities that
make them very poor role models. This
is where our “Christian lens” comes in
that I’ve talked about before.
One year ago, Plaxico Burress of the New
York Giants caught a beautiful,
over-the-shoulder touchdown catch that
defeated the New England Patriots in one of
the greatest Super Bowl upsets ever.
One month ago, Plaxico Burress was arrested
in a night club, where he was found
possessing an illegal firearm and a gunshot
wound in his leg (he was suspended from the
team for the rest of the season).
Although we’re not clear on all the
details, it became apparent that this man
was in a place he wasn’t supposed to be,
and he clearly wasn’t acting like a
responsible role model. As you
probably already know, he isn’t the only
one who doesn’t. Whether it be Kobe
Bryant cheating on his wife, Jose Canseco
making money off a book about steroid usage
in baseball, or any number of other stories,
there are many athletes in sports who
don’t act like role models or even like
adults.
I love how so many of the hymns in our
Orthodox worship that refer to martyrs talk
about how they are “athletes of Christ.”
Many of these hymns (mostly sung during
Orthros or Vespers) use terms like
“winning the prize,” “running the
race,” “being crowned,” and many other
images that relate to athletics. If
you’re wondering why the hymns have this
kind of language, it’s because in reality,
life is a contest- it requires endurance,
perseverance, strength, and patience- the
same things that we admire about
professional athletes. But what’s
different about the martyrs’ victories is
that they won prizes that are eternal and
are truly more important than any other
trophy- salvation. Our relationship
with Christ is more important than any
championship ring, cool-looking tattoo or
highlight reel. The saints of our
Church often endured fierce competition,
often coming from lions, Roman soldiers or
Soviet concentration camps. Let’s
make sure that in our love of sports and
other heroes of our culture, we don’t lose
sight of those heroes who have achieved
something really meaningful. Sports
are great, but just because someone’s
great at sports doesn’t mean they’re
great.
When we follow sports stories, let’s try
to remember those athletes who do good
things with their fame- Kurt Warner thanking
Jesus after his Super Bowl victory in 2000,
Jamie Moyer’s charity organizations, or
Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks who
bought his dad (a pastor of a church) a new
church building with his first contract.
Let’s also remember the real athletes of
our world, the saints and martyrs, who have
won victories for God and have provided us
with true examples of role models.
We need to always make sure salvation in
Christ is our ultimate goal. Let’s
keep our eyes on the prize, and become
athletes for Christ.
