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Here is an article from Saturdays Star Trib. Makes me feel better about my own emotional investment in Jackrabbit sports. Too long so I split it into 2 posts.
A theology of sport suggests fixation among masses may not be a bad thing
David Briggs, Religion News Service
Published February 14, 2004 SPOR14
Professional sports as Greek tragedy? Spending a few hours on the couch eating pizza and nachos and watching a ballgame as contributing to something more than the extended adolescence of the American male?
It hardly sounds possible to those who would rather go to a movie, read a book, watch the History, HGTV or Food networks -- heck, even the Cartoon Network -- and celebrate their moral superiority over the Neanderthals who consider professional gladiators pounding one another into submission a noble pursuit.
But as critics and fans of spectator sports persist in their troglodyte-elitist name-calling, a theology of sport is developing that suggests the passions so many invest in sports might not be such a bad thing.
Sports can be an outlet for male-pattern aggression, one theory goes. Like a Greek tragedy, sport offers the opportunity for emotional catharsis, to experience the highs and lows of the human condition and emerge feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
And the best part is, despite the seemingly disproportionate emotional investments fans make in their teams during the game, there is also recognition that life goes on. Unlike real tragedies, such as war or assaults, no one dies in the end.
Hey, it's a shame -- as the song goes -- if the home team doesn't win, but regardless, the fan takes something from being part of the event, says poet John Savant, professor emeritus at Dominican University of California.
"Vicariously, we have risked, we have dared, we have struggled, we have won and lost. Imaginatively we are authenticated: warriors, generals, strategists, acrobats, contenders, victorious [even fallen] heroes," he wrote in a recent theological reflection in the independent Catholic magazine Commonweal.
Despite the often-contentious relationship between religion and sports, with sermons inveighing against turning football into a national religion and rebukes for those who would skip church or synagogue for youth soccer or the golf course, some clergy say there is a place for fandom in a balanced life.
The Rev. Marvin McMickle, a longtime civil rights activist and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, says he never apologizes for taking the time to watch a game. "For me, it's like a movie, theater, television or a good meal. Its a wonderful diversion," he said. "Nobody can go at this thing 24/7. You have to step back and have something to step back to."
Of course, sports passion can be carried too far. One only has to listen for a while to the sports talk shows to hear examples of individuals who have substituted the exploits of others for their real lives.
Savant, a poet-theologian who never breaks 100 on the golf course and can be found watching a ballgame on the couch on Saturday afternoon, is careful not to make too much of the value of sports.
Unlike religious ritual or great literature, which takes participants and readers to great moral and intellectual depths, sports belong more to the realm of amusement, he said.
A theology of sport suggests fixation among masses may not be a bad thing
David Briggs, Religion News Service
Published February 14, 2004 SPOR14
Professional sports as Greek tragedy? Spending a few hours on the couch eating pizza and nachos and watching a ballgame as contributing to something more than the extended adolescence of the American male?
It hardly sounds possible to those who would rather go to a movie, read a book, watch the History, HGTV or Food networks -- heck, even the Cartoon Network -- and celebrate their moral superiority over the Neanderthals who consider professional gladiators pounding one another into submission a noble pursuit.
But as critics and fans of spectator sports persist in their troglodyte-elitist name-calling, a theology of sport is developing that suggests the passions so many invest in sports might not be such a bad thing.
Sports can be an outlet for male-pattern aggression, one theory goes. Like a Greek tragedy, sport offers the opportunity for emotional catharsis, to experience the highs and lows of the human condition and emerge feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
And the best part is, despite the seemingly disproportionate emotional investments fans make in their teams during the game, there is also recognition that life goes on. Unlike real tragedies, such as war or assaults, no one dies in the end.
Hey, it's a shame -- as the song goes -- if the home team doesn't win, but regardless, the fan takes something from being part of the event, says poet John Savant, professor emeritus at Dominican University of California.
"Vicariously, we have risked, we have dared, we have struggled, we have won and lost. Imaginatively we are authenticated: warriors, generals, strategists, acrobats, contenders, victorious [even fallen] heroes," he wrote in a recent theological reflection in the independent Catholic magazine Commonweal.
Despite the often-contentious relationship between religion and sports, with sermons inveighing against turning football into a national religion and rebukes for those who would skip church or synagogue for youth soccer or the golf course, some clergy say there is a place for fandom in a balanced life.
The Rev. Marvin McMickle, a longtime civil rights activist and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, says he never apologizes for taking the time to watch a game. "For me, it's like a movie, theater, television or a good meal. Its a wonderful diversion," he said. "Nobody can go at this thing 24/7. You have to step back and have something to step back to."
Of course, sports passion can be carried too far. One only has to listen for a while to the sports talk shows to hear examples of individuals who have substituted the exploits of others for their real lives.
Savant, a poet-theologian who never breaks 100 on the golf course and can be found watching a ballgame on the couch on Saturday afternoon, is careful not to make too much of the value of sports.
Unlike religious ritual or great literature, which takes participants and readers to great moral and intellectual depths, sports belong more to the realm of amusement, he said.
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