With the Super Bowl this weekend and me blogging through Kyle Idleman’s book, Not a Fan, I figured this was as good a time as any to share this video. In honor of the big game, courtesy of the Skit Guys:
sports
Tebow-liever?
I’ve really tried to hold off on posting about Tim Tebow. Yes, I included him in my Not a Fan series, and I titled a post after him when he was still in college, but I have tried hard not to feed the hype. Part of it is because I’m just not that big of a fan. I’m no Monday-morning quarterback critiquing his mechanics, nor am I rooting for him to fail. I just don’t think his faith, his throwing motion, and the way he conducts himself off the field is that big of a deal. And I think he’d agree. Yet I am a Denver Bronco fan so I hope he succeeds. And I did draft him for my fantasy football team this year, because I had a hunch he would be starting by mid-season… at fullback. Ok, I was half-right.
But instead of honest debate over the outcome of next week’s playoff game or analysis of Pittsburgh’s decision to stuff the box in overtime, we hear non-stop about his time with a girl suffering from granulomatosis, how Katy Perry’s Evangelical parents want to hook their “heartbroken” daughter up with him- even to the point of inviting him to their church, and of course the Internet explosion when Evangelicals realized that he threw for 316 yards last week. OMG (gosh, for the record) Tebow threw for 316 yards. 3 16, as in John 3:16, get it? OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!
Simply put, we are running the risk of turning Tim Tebow into an idol. (a must-read IMHO)
But isn’t it interesting he threw for 316 yards last week? That phenomenon lead to Google searches of John 3:16 to skyrocket, just as they did when he wore the scripture in eyeblack during his BCS title game a couple of years ago. But does it mean anything? Does it mean God’s hand is miraculously holding up the lame ducks Tim Tebow throws 50 yards downfield? Does it mean God is rooting for Tebow to succeed? (And before you point out his three game losing streak, let me point out that Jesus rose from the dead after three days. I’m not sayin’, just sayin’)
I think it just means God has a sense of humor.
First up, the infamous Saturday Night Live skit, which I think is hilarious:
Then this spoof on Hitler’s reaction to Tebow’s win (ironically the first time I saw this re-subtitled was after a Steeler win, and proof that every Internet argument eventually ends with someone invoking Hitler.)
Like I said, I think God has a sense of humor and Tebow 316 is proof of that. Also consider that he completed ten passes out of twenty one, or 10/21. Let’s look into what seems to be Tim Tebow’s favorite Gospel, John: “But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?‘” (John 10:21) Or to paraphrase, “These are not the wins of a bad quarterback, can a bad quarterback pass for over 300 yards against the league’s best defense?”
So what does this all mean? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! No go in peace to watch football objectively, loving and serving the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Do I Know You?
On one of my recent business trips I was returning from Washington, DC and waiting in line on the jetway when I started small talk with the person next to me. He was a big guy and looked pretty young. We were talking about the weather in LA when I asked him what he was going out there for. “Oh, I’m going to go work out, work on my game” he replied. Since he looked so young, and it was that time of year, I figured it might have been a workout for a school. “Nah,” he laughed, “I’m in the NBA, I play for the Washington Wizards.” Now feeling foolish I try and backpeddle, “Oh, I don’t watch too much of the pros. I’m more a college hoops fan.” And realizing I was digging myself further into a hole, I changed subject to the NBA lockout which was still going on at the time. Then the line started to move, we got on board, wished each other well, and took our seats; his in first class of course. But before we parted ways I noticed his bags were monogramed with JW. So once in my seat I quickly did a Google search of JW Washington Wizards before the flight attendant could stop me and throw me in a cell with Alec Baldwin.
Now there are a couple of things wrong with the story above. First, my description of “young”. Ok, so this “kid” was 20 at the time. But my excuse of being a college hoops fan didn’t help my cause. Because JW for the Washington Wizards was none other than John Wall, first overall draft pick in the 2010 NBA draft, and arguably the best player in college basketball that year. And it’s not like he played for some obscure school either; he played for the Kentucky Wildcats, one of college basketball’s elite powerhouses. So of course I did a facepalm there in my seat and vowed if I saw him as we were getting off the plane, I would apologize and try and get my story straight.
You see, the problem was I was standing right next to one of the best basketball players in the world and I didn’t know it. But if he had told me his name I could have spouted off stats, key plays, and otherwise acted like I knew what I was talking about. I knew about John Wall, but I didn’t know John Wall.
Does that describe your relationship with Jesus? Do you know a lot about Jesus without actually knowing Him? That is the topic of chapter 3 of Kyle Idleman’s book Not a Fan, “knowledge about him or intimacy with him?” Kyle uses the example of the Pharisee in Luke 7 who invites Jesus over for dinner, yet doesn’t even acknowledge him as a guest. The irony, Kyle points out, is that this man has spent his life studying the scriptures and likely had all the messianic prophecies memorized, but he couldn’t recognize the Messiah sitting right in front of him. I am reminded of this verse:
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
Further, Kyle suggests that our church culture actually encourages knowledge without intimacy. Consider:
We love having Bible studies, many of which include some kind of workbook. We go through a Bible curriculum that often has homework. Sermons are often accompanied by an outline where members can take notes and fill in the blanks. Many preachers refer to their sermons as a lesson or a lecture. If you grew up in the church, then you probably went to Sunday school, where you had a teacher. In the summer you may have gone to Vacation Bible School. Maybe you even competed in Bible Bowl competitions, all of which are won or lost depending on how much biblical knowledge you’ve accumulated and how fast you can raise your hand or hit a button. (pg 44)
The other night at Midweek we had a trivia competition. I love these, but mostly because I usually do really well. It is so bad (and yes, I said bad) that if we picked teams, I know a lot of people would pick to be on mine (which is completely different than kickball, but I digress). There are a handful of us at church who are usually the last ones standing and that night was no exception. In the end it came down to two of us, and I walked away victorious because I was able to figure out a trick math question. Of course, Jesus doesn’t care about any of that. And that scares me.
I confess I know a lot about Jesus and I know a lot about the Bible. But I have to honestly assess myself and ask how intimately I really know Jesus. One of my greatest fears is to reach the end of my life and hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, away from me you evildoer!” (Matthew 7:23) Most of us would rather hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21, 23) Yet doesn’t Jesus tell his disciples “I no longer call you servants… instead I have called you friends…” (John 15:15) Isn’t that the level of intimacy we want to have with Jesus and He with us? Can you honestly describe your relationship with Jesus that way?
Evildoer. Servant. Or friend. What will Jesus call you? Or will he call you “just a fan”?
This post continues my series blogging through the book, Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. I encourage you to follow along by clicking on the Not A Fan label to the right. And I urge you to pick up a copy of this book for yourself.
All Eyes Are On You
I’ve been putting off an “official” post on Tim Tebow for a while (and this post from a couple of years ago doesn’t count). I’m falling behind the news cycle and was expecting to change the tone of this post after it looked certain that the “Mile High Messiah” was finally going to lose one Sunday. (For the record, I have only seen that nickname used once in an article by the Evil Four Letter and I am sure Tebow wouldn’t accept such an anointing) But alas, he pulled out another win. One of my friends noted when I replied to his Tebow blog post that if I wait until the last two minutes, then this blog post will be a “win”. Does that mean that the other 3+ quarters of all my other blog posts are terrible? (if you don’t get the joke, don’t worry)
Anyway, I could go on and on about his throwing motion, his “yards per touch” ranking, his quarterback rating, etc, etc. I could even tell you that he has “it” without ever really identifying what “it” is. I could talk about how hard it is to hate the guy because he’s just so darn nice (see his last postgame comments about Brian Urlacher for example). And of course I could write about how divisive this man of faith is to believers and football fans alike. But I’ll let the following articles do all that for me.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7319858/the-people-hate-tim-tebow
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Tim-Tebow-why-the-heck-do-we-hate-him-110211
But this post isn’t about Tim Tebow. At least not totally. In the second chapter of Not A Fan, Kyle Idleman calls our attention to Jesus’ late night conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus, not Nostradamus like I thought as a kid, was part of the religious ruling class- the Sanhedrin- and was a Pharisee with respect to religious conviction. He had a lot to lose even being seen near Jesus, let alone sitting down and having a conversation with this alleged heretic. So Nicodemus goes to Jesus at night.
Idleman is right to point out that fans of Jesus are comfortable wearing their favorite uniform so long as their star is winning. That’s because it doesn’t cost them anything. But when the star is controversial or doesn’t act the way a fan might expect, the jersey comes off. Meeting with Jesus at night didn’t cost Nicodemus anything. Idleman writes: “There is no way to follow Jesus without him interfering with your life.” (pg 30)
Which brings me back to Tim Tebow. No, he’s not a great quarterback. And no, I’m not necessarily a fan (but as a Bronco fan, I’m glad he’s winning). But does he deserve the mocking and scorn he receives? Here’s a sample conversation I heard last week on sports-talk radio: “So Tebow prayed for God to help him with his spiral? Well either God didn’t answer his prayer or God can’t throw a spiral either.” To which the other commentator replied, “Or maybe his God doesn’t answer his prayers.” It’s gotten to the point where not only Tebow is mocked, but so is the sovereignty of God.
Even other Christian players have backed off from him. Kurt Warner, notorious for his faith, admits that maybe Tebow should “put down the boldness” to prevent critics from becoming “calloused”.
Jake Plummer, who Tebow essentially replaced in a round and about way said, “I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ then I think I’ll like him a little better .” But both quarterbacks completely miss the point.
Tebow is not a fan of Jesus. If he was, he wouldn’t talk about him so much. If he was, he wouldn’t open up every postgame press conference by thanking his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. (He doesn’t even shorten it for simplicity like Warner’s famous “Thank you Jesussss!” And he definitely wouldn’t take a knee and “Tebow” for the whole world to see and mock.
No, Tim Tebow is not a fan of Jesus. He is not afraid of being seen with him. He is not afraid of talking about him. He is not ashamed. He does not need to come to Jesus in the dark of night. He does not mind that his relationship with Jesus interferes with his life, his popularity, and yes even his play on the field.
So put yourself in Tebow’s shoes. Would you continue to praise Jesus with every camera on you? Would you pray to Jesus both through the good and bad, knowing everyone is watching and waiting for you to slip? Would you allow Jesus to interfere with your life that much? Or are you still just a fan?
This post continues my series blogging through the book, Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. I encourage you to follow along by clicking on the Not A Fan label to the right. And I urge you to pick up a copy of this book for yourself.
Flashback Friday: Are Winners More Blessed?
***I admit I “Tebow” every day. I just don’t take a picture of it and post it on Facebook. Tim Tebow is a lightning rod presently and when I went back to dig up old posts about him, I discovered I haven’t really written much about him at all. So the following post, from almost three years ago, is more about how the mix of religion and success on the sports field makes us uncomfortable. I think that’s appropriate given the Tebowing phenomenon. But I also want to link to this post by Jen Engel at Fox Sports. She raises an interesting question: if Tebow were Muslim, would anyone dare mock his faith? Something to consider.***
I’m a total sports nut, and I’ve had draft after draft of blog posts dedicated to this subject, but I never seem to get around to posting them. Well, here’s my overdue post on the role of God in sports, motivated courtesy of Mark Kriegel and Foxsports. [author’s note: this article isn’t cached by Fox Sports, but talked about how Kurt Warner’s faith and return to the Super Bowl made him uncomfortable]
This is a hot topic right now because of the building media hype leading up to the Super Bowl, magnified by Tony Dungy’s retirement and Tim Tebow winning yet another BC$ Championship. If you’re not as much of a nerd as me, let me give you a quick rundown. Kurt Warner, the blue-collar come-from-nowhere Super Bowl Champion quarterback is back with a new team and another shot at glory. He isn’t shy about the role his faith has played in motivating him through tough times, of which he’s had many. Tony Dungy is retiring from coaching the Indianapolis Colts, whom he led to the 2007 Super Bowl. A well-respected and regarded coach with high expectations, he too would give credit where credit was due and was criticized following his Super Bowl win by boasting that he and his opposing coach, Lovie Smith, were the first to “do it the right way” supposedly by not cussing and being religious, implying that the other 30 coaches in the NFL do it the wrong way. (This is not meant as a knock on Dungy at all, just the way the media responded. In fact, I have a great deal of respect for him and would cheer for the Colts because of him. He is definitely a fine example to follow as summarized in this article from OnFaith.) Finally, Tim Tebow is a a phenom-quarterback at the University of Florida who not only thanks God for his accomplishments (only a couple of championships and Heisman trophies but who’s counting?), but even goes on mission trips.
Of course it’s no surprise that these outward displays of faith make others like Kriegel uncomfortable. If God has no place in our government or our public square, then certainly God has no place in sports, right? Faith is even harder to reconcile in sports, where there is a clear winner and loser. Who’s to say God favored one over the other? Does God really care who wins a championship? (If he did, the Cubs would’ve won it all last year, but I digress) Some denominations recognize this and even go so far as prohibiting sports because not only does competition bring out the worst of us (just go watch your church’s local softball team) but it also puts God in a box, forcing Him to choose a favorite. Of course, the Bible tells us over and over that God doesn’t play favorites, so this would be a sin on our part.
The rivalry game between the University of Utah and BYU is called the Holy War (really, only recently so when both teams have been good enough to generate national attention). Does God really care who wins that game? What if Baylor (a Baptist school) plays Notre Dame? Does God care if the baseball player that crosses himself before his at bat strikes out or hits a home run?
Of course, most Christians in sports treat this humbly by crediting God for their talents and their health. They don’t pray to win, they pray to glorify God and for there to be no injuries. It’s usually the fans (and some knucklehead players with misinformed theology, see below) who take it overboard. But even crediting God for talents and opportunities makes others uncomfortable. Look no further than critics of President Bush who never did understand what he meant when he claimed that he believed God chose him to be president. This wasn’t a boast, but a humble reference to Romans 13:1. We can joke that Obama is the ‘chosen one’ but again, referencing Romans and conceding that God has a hand in all things, he really is. But then we’re back to the problem with sports- was Florida ‘chosen’? If so, where’s free will?
So there’s a danger in all of this. There’s no problem with thanking God, for that’s what the Bible commands us to do “in everything” (Phil 4:6) and “in all circumstances” (1 Thes 5:18). But we need to draw a line between divine providence (opportunity and talent) and divine intervention. This is where some fans and athletes cross the line. I mentioned BYU earlier and I’m not shy in saying that I absolutely hate them. But last year, there was a “miracle catch” to beat Utah as time expired and later a “miracle block” to beat UCLA in their bowl game. Their receiver, after this miracle catch was quoted as saying, “Obviously, if you do what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it. Magic happens.” But what about the thugs and cheats that permeate professional sports who are successful? See where this theology leads? (this is also a problem with Prosperity Doctrine, but that’s another post for another day)
This isn’t a new problem. Look at how David lamented on the success of the wicked in the Psalms. Solomon did the same in Ecclesiastes. Or even the apostles who wondered why a man was born blind. Righteous living does not equate success in this life despite what our favorite athletes might say. We need to look no further than Jesus’ reply to reconcile our faith with prosperity, or in our case victory: “[T]his happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)
The “his” above could be “us” or “them” with regards to our own success or that of our favorite (or least favorite even) team. Give God the glory. Give him thanks. And humbly recognize that whether you win or lose, God is in control.
(For entertainment, check out this article from a year ago that gives a list of sports colliding with faith. See if you can tell the difference between most of the quotes- the most obvious exception being the boxer- and what the BYU player said.)
Putting Your Money Where Your Faith Is
A quick update to this post: Jim Tressel resigned over the weekend as the scandal at Ohio State seems to get deeper and deeper. As we learned from the Reggie Bush sanctions against USC (which were just upheld on appeal) the school will get hit while the coach gets off scott-free. Meanwhile, Cam Newton and his laptop were picked first in the NFL Draft, so he should make enough money to pay for his dad’s church to get up to code.
So in this cesspool of college athletics and religion I keep waiting for the next shoe to drop. Mark Richt, evangelical celebrity and University of Georgia football coach, just put his two-million dollar home up for sale. A home he bought just a couple of years ago. A sign of trouble ahead? To quote Lee Corso, not so fast my friend! (man, I can’t wait for college football season to start back up)
After rampant internet speculation of Richt being in danger of losing his job, Georgia being under investigation, or some other malfeasance, the coach came out and stated that he is selling his home because of a book. The coach was convicted by The Hole in Our Gospel by World Vision president, Richard Stearns, who writes that 40% of the world’s population lives on $2 or less a day and 15% live on $1 or less. Meanwhile those in the United States live on an average of $105 a day. In that backdrop, this coach who has made more than $25 million since joining UGA choose to sell his home.
It is exciting to see someone actually put their money (literally) where their faith is. Like Francis Chan, who also was convicted by Jesus’ example and downsized his home and eventually stepped out of his mega-pastorate, Mark Richt is catching criticism for valuing treasures in heaven more than things on earth. Yet I pray his example, and the examples from books like Stearns’, Chan’s, and David Platt’s motivate Christians in this country to re-examine our priorities and comfortability.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:33-34)
Who You Are Is What You Wear
What identifies you? Are you labeled by the logo on your clothes? In sports, we become part of the nameless mob of thousands attending a game. But if you put on that jersey of your favorite player, you are now identified as either old-school- sporting throwbacks, naive- wearing a jersey of a player just traded to the hated rivals, loyal- wearing a jersey that doesn’t need a name on the back, band-wagoner- wearing the best-seller, or an out-of-towner- wearing the jersey of the opposing team. In a heated rivalry, that last one can get you in trouble. Bryan Stow was identified by his Giants jersey at a Los Angeles Dodgers game and was beaten nearly to death for it. He was not identified by his name, his career, his family, or even his race. He was judged merely by the shirt he was wearing.
Yet as heated as the Dodgers-Giants rivalry goes, it does not begin to compare with one of the oldest rivalries in soccer (er, football), the Old Firm in Glasgow, Scotland between the Celts and Rangers. In that rivalry, the kit you wear does not just identify you as a fan of either team, it labels you as Catholic or Protestant, Irish or British. The 100-plus year rivalry is marked by employment discrimination (the Rangers would not employ any Catholics until the 90’s), sectarian taunts, mob violence, and most recently mail bombs. Sure the competition is heated which contributes (Last year’s final match between the two was postponed until the Rangers clinched the Scotland Premier League title so that less would be at stake. The two teams have occupied the top two spots in their league every year but one since 1995.) but the hatred goes far beyond the final score.
Yet despite the rift between religions, the dispute isn’t about the Pope, views on homosexuality, or any real doctrinal issue. Here, religion identifies your background, your nationality, your culture. It doesn’t matter if you never even attend church, if you cheer for the Celts you are Catholic, Irish, and an immigrant. Funny how much you can learn about someone just by the team he roots for.
So Catholic/Protestant has been reduced to cultural identifiers more than religious. I fear the same is happening in this country. Call yourself a Christian in certain parts of this country and that instantly means you’re white, Republican, homophobic, and anti-science. If you challenge the assumption and say you vote Democrat, then you’re Social-Gospel and progressive. More broadly, just based on the numbers, if you even call yourself an American then it’s safe to assume you are also Christian. Of course our doctrines, politics, and behaviors are more nuanced yet “Christian” has become more a cultural definition than any statement towards one’s beliefs or activities. Just like wearing a jersey to a game, I can assume a lot about you by calling you a Christian.
But about that label; it’s not political, it’s not racial, it’s not even doctrinal. The name identifies you with Christ. Wearing a Giants jersey does not make you part of the team. Yet calling ourselves Christians does identify us with Christ. It is that identity that should matter most. I don’t only root for Christ, I’m on his team.
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)
Here’s the irony of the bomb threats in the Old Firm rivalry: the next time they play is Easter Sunday.
Worship Wins
Football and Jesus go together like America and apple pie. In Texas, football is a religion. Some high school stadiums are larger than small colleges. In the Bible Belt, who you root for is as important a question as where you go to church. Georgia Bulldog coach Mark Richt had a cameo role in the Christian movie, Facing the Giants. Further north you find Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame. Tony Dungy has made a name for himself as the NFL’s spiritual mentor based on his outspoken beliefs and willingness to take troubled players under his wing.
It is against this backdrop that the news Tuesday out of the Ohio State University came as a shock. But if you follow college football (or make random blog posts about how the priorities of college ball are all out of whack) it really comes as no surprise. It turns out Ohio State’s head football coach, Jim Tressel, knew about the allegations I mentioned in my earlier post all the way back in April. That means he let his players, who weren’t just being investigated by the NCAA but by the FBI, participate the whole season capped by their appearance in the Sugar Bowl. His penalty for lying to his university and to the NCAA? A two game suspension and a $250,000 fine. The fine sounds like a lot until you learn that Tressel makes more than $3 million a year. His excuse of an excuse? He didn’t want to breach the confidentiality of the investigation. (Sorry, that’s not when you choose to stay quiet, it’s when you choose to call your lawyer. There’s this thing called privilege, coach.)
The irony is that to face the music, coach Tressel had to cancel a book signing tour. The book? Life Promises for Success, Promises from God on Achieving Your Best. This isn’t his first Christian book either. He is also the author of The Winners Manual (which includes a forward by John C. Maxwell). I don’t follow Big Ten football that closely, so I have no idea if Tressel wears his faith on his sleeve, but I’m not sure I want to learn about God’s promises on achieving my best from someone who is now known to cheat, or follow a manual on winning from a coach that plays a soft schedule every year just to choke in the BCS. (Sorry, had to throw that jab in there)
In America, we worship a lot of things other than God. We worship money, fame and fortune, gadgets, status, and on and on. Add sports to that mix. In the cathedral of football, we worship at the altar of wins and losses. If a coach doesn’t meet expectations, bring out the pitchforks. (A few years ago Nebraska fired a coach who had just won 10 games. And don’t get me started on how Arkansas ran off Houston Nutt.) Churches change their schedules around on Super Bowl Sunday while attendance drops during the NFL season. Christians in America are more likely to strike up a conversation with someone about sports than about Christ. We wear jerseys, hats, and other apparel signifying our allegiances, but hide our faith in the public square. I’m not casting stones. We are all guilty. The scandals that keep piling up require us to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the honest question: in the heart of the playoff race, who do we worship?
Integrity of the Game
It has become painfully obvious that amateur collegiate athletics are as much about money as their pro counterparts. Although it took years to conclude, the NCAA finally did strip USC of one of their championships and Reggie Bush gave up his Heisman Trophy because his family moved into a house paid for by a prospective agent. The mother of LeBron James, perhaps knowing he wouldn’t play a bounce of college ball, drove away from his high school championship in a brand new tricked-out Hummer. Cam Newton’s dad shopped his son around to the school that would pay the most, yet somehow Cam came out scot free with a Heisman Trophy of his own. (Funny that character is supposed to be one of the requirements for the trophy) Even if the NCAA determined he was clear (they didn’t, the case is still open) I’m not sure how he explains away the stolen computer found during the FBI’s investigation. Also during the last football season several players from the Ohio State University were busted selling championship rings and other memorabilia on eBay. They were going to be suspended for their Sugar Bowl game, but a prominent booster and the school president were able to convince the NCAA to wait until next season to implement the suspensions.
In this cesspool, Brigham Young University, the flagship school of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (you know, the Mormons), broke away from its affiliated conference to play football as an independent. The rationale given at the time (and the story has since changed) was that they better serve an evangelistic purpose as an independent, able to reach out to a national (and international with BYU-TV) audience.
For basketball they will align themselves with other private religious schools in the West Coast Conference (Gonzaga, St Mary’s, et al). But this season they continue to play in the Mountain West. In fact they played themselves to a #3 national ranking, boasting potential Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette, and controlled their own destiny to secure a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They controlled their own destiny. And they also control their message. They showed this week that the message is more important than the money. A team earns “credits” for each game they play in the tournament that pays out over five years. It is also distributed amongst their conference-mates. There’s also the free publicity of being a “Cinderella”. A study commissioned by George Mason after their improbable Final Four run concluded that they earned 650 million dollars worth of free pub. In this economic backdrop, BYU did the unthinkable. They suspended their third leading scorer, and number one big-man, for the remainder of the season. His transgression? Not for possession of drugs or some other high crime, but rather for having consensual pre-marital sex. As some have put it, he was suspended from the team for being a typical 19 year old.
But BYU is anything but typical. They are a religious school with a strict honor code. Pre-marital sex is a violation of said code. It is cut and dry and everyone knows what the expectations are when they sign on the dotted line. It would have been easy to sweep this under the rug, win a couple of more games, go into March Madness as a #1 seed and National Championship contender, raking in millions of dollars in the process. Any other school likely would’ve done just that. But sometimes, morality is more important than money. And examples are more important than fan expectations.
Whatever you think about the Mormon religion, or even the culture at BYU, as Christians we have to respect this decision. As one fan put it, “As a basketball fan I think this is the dumbest move ever. But I just found the college for my daughter.”
Super Perspective
Reading up on the news in Egypt (and please keep everyone there in your prayers!), one figure stood out to me: 40% of Egyptians make less than $2 a day. Puts my salary in perspective. But it puts this weekend’s gluttony, aka the Super Bowl in perspective as well.
Consider:
- A 30 second commercial during the Super Bowl will cost $3,000,000.
- A ticket on the 50-yard line, lower level, costs almost $16,000
- 106.5 million people watched the Super Bowl last year on CBS.
- 8 million pounds of popcorn will be consumed, 28 million pounds of chips, 53.5 million pounds of avocados for guacamole requiring a total of 222,792 football fields worth of farmland to grow.
- 325.5 million gallons of beer will be drank which would fill 493 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Meanwhile:
- $3,000,000 would provide hospice care for those dying of HIV/AIDS over four years in Uganda, or vaccinate 3 million children for measles across Africa, or provide mosquito nets, better access to medications, and free HIV/AIDS testing in Rwanda. (That’s only three ads right there)
- 75% of the world makes less than the cost of that football ticket… in ten years. (according to the Global Rich List)
- Up to 10,000 adult and underage girls are expected to be sex-trafficked to Dallas-Fort Worth this week
- 223,000 acres of corn would feed 25,000 people for a year (according to rough calculations from this site).
- 325.5 million gallons would give enough potable water to 616 million people for a day, or enough for 1.7 million people for a year. (This is only a dent, though, as 1 billion people are without drinkable water)
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)