God in Sports

4/2/13

God in Sports

As most of you have heard, God is in all aspects of life. So it's just natural that God is a pretty big sports fan. I mean I bet it's hard to find a sport he doesn't like. Maybe competitive speed walking, it's really hard to get behind those speed walkers. He is probably such a big sports guy that He has just won The Game, and yes, that means you lost.

 But I mean how do you think Eli Manning was able to escape that overpowering Patriots rush in Super Bowl 42 and was able to throw an absolute bomb to David Tyree who made a catch that you just knew the Big Guy upstairs orchestrated. Or did you just think that 1980 Winter Olympics semi-final between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was divine-free? And don't you think God put in a little extra ball skills when creating Lionel Messi? The point is that He is ALWAYS watching, and maybe sometimes sending some plays down from H.Q. Here are some real examples of God being present in sports around the world:

1.Tebowing

It became famous when the Denver Broncos gave the Mile-High Messiah a chance. Tim Tebow is an American Football player for the New York Jets. Since his college years, he has been known to be a very devout Christian, and the media just loved him. So it wasn't a surprise that when Tim started doing his pre-game prayers, the media gave it a name: Tebowing. Soon every citizen from a newborn to the elderly, from the beaches of Hawaii to the harbors of Boston, from the shipping vessels in Alaska to the swamps of the Everglades in Florida, everybody was Tebowing. What started as a simple petition to God turned into a social rave. Though it is a bit unjust Tebow got all this attention.

Players in any level of football have been performing pre-game prayers way before Tebow put on his helmet for the first time. Next time you go to your local NFL, college, or high school football game, make sure to take notice on the 20-30 guys praying near each other and not the one guy all alone with cameras aimed right at him.

2. The Point to Sky

It's become almost the main-stream celebration after scoring a goal, hitting a big 3, hitting a home run, throwing a touchdown pass or any big sports accomplishment: the point to the sky. A simple yet direct way to give a small show of recognition to who without Him, none of this would of been possible. Certain people will add their own flair to this simple celebration. The American soccer player Clint Dempsey will make a small sign and cross to show respect. to his sister who died as a teenager. Manchester City's David Silva will kiss his wrist before he points because of a tattoo with the words "Cynthia" on them show love to his late cousin that died when she was 5.

It's now such a common celebration that when fans see it, they don't think much of it. Maybe they should, maybe they shouldn't. The fact is that every time an athlete points to sky, they're showing their appreciation to the God they believe. It is quite possible that there is a small amount of these players that aren't actually great religious people, but I can assure most athletes that use that celebration do it because they are actually pretty religious people. 

3. The Non-Tebowing pre-game prayer

This is probably the most apparent sign of God in sports: a pre-game prayer. It can be done on your own (done in the bottom left by Javier Hernandez of Manchester United), by a small group, or by the whole team (upper right). It is a way to get a final blessing before the game, it can be done in many different ways. It can be done by doing a simple or know prayer, or a rendition made throughout time. All of them though are the best way to bring God into sports, thanking him for being able to give the athletes and themselves this incredible opportunity to play their great game and to ask to look over them. I'm sure God wouldn't mind catching a quick game, whether it be the Stanley Cup Finals or a high school lacrosse game. I mean if He watches the Dallas Cowboys play on Sunday then I'm sure He's fine with watching anything really.

The final point I'm going to make is that religion is huge, all around the world you can find faithful. Meaning that most to all athletes are religious themselves. So if it isn't hard for athletes to have God in their everyday life, why would it be weird to expect them to bring it into Sports.