How To Be a Christian Fan

A few years ago, the Christian High School in our area decided to add a football program.  Sadly, the administration was unwilling to engage in a theological discussion of the idea of "Christian football," but the Athletic Director said he would write something for the school community about how to cheer at a football game.  He never did, but this is my attempt to describe how Christians should be sports fans.  Enjoy!

            Pastor, author, and baseball fan, John Fischer, wrote in a Breakpoint commentary [July 15, 2002 – sadly, no link], “I was elated the day I discovered that God was having as much fun at a Minnesota Twins/Texas Ranger [sic] ball game as I was.” Is God delighted by a ball game?  The Scriptures include a number of allusions to athletics.  Paul refers to athletes competing for a prize, to his own finishing the race and fighting the good fight.  The writer of Hebrews alludes to a crowd of witnesses in the stadium watching us run our race and cheering us on. [1 Cor 9:24-27; 2 Tim 4:7-8; Heb 12:1-2] Athletics was part of the culture in Paul’s day, so his illustrations from the world of sport were relevant.  Fisher reports, “I made this discovery when I realized how much truth I could find illustrated by what was going on down on the field.” If we are joining with God in delighting in a sporting event, should our behavior as a Christian spectator be distinctive?  Can we attend a sporting event in a Christian manner?

            Dr. Ethan Brue, an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA, has written on understanding athletic competition from a Christian perspective.  He notes that the Latin root of the word “compete” means “to come together and agree” or “to seek together.”  He then argues that sport is primarily an aesthetic endeavor.  “Within the context of mutually agreed upon boundaries and rules, persons engage their bodies in a tapestry of motion that is made beautiful by skill, nuance, creativity, and the unexpected, a beauty apparent to fans and players alike.”  Players put forth their best effort in order to “offer the opposition the best possible opportunity for creative and skillful play.”  When athletes compete to the best of their ability, even if they may lose by a lopsided score, they allow all the players to glorify the creator in the aesthetic movements of the sport – the ballet of a smoothly turned double play, the graceful arc of a 3-point jumper, the fluid grace of a header into the corner of the net, the acrobatic balance of a catch with toes landing in-bounds in the corner of the end zone.

            From a Christian perspective, competition is not about winning, but about “seeking together,” about putting forth effort so that the players together can reveal the artistic marvel of human athletic endeavors.  This should affect how coaches coach their teams, how players participate in the games.  The goal is to put forth full effort within the  boundaries of the rules to please God with their effort.  This means, among other things, that victory is not the ultimate purpose or measure of sport in general, or of an athletic event in particular.  This affects how the fan should cheer.

            Since I am no longer a coach or player in organized sports, I find myself in the role of spectator and fan.  My cheers for the home team (or whatever team I may favor) ought to be primarily directed not toward winning, but rather toward the best efforts of the players so that the beauty of the game and of athletic aesthetics can be demonstrated.  This means at least two things for how we, as fans, should behave Christianly at sporting events.

            First, it means that our cheering should never be directed toward the officials, referees, umpires, coaches, or other people involved in controlling or directing the game.  The officials and coaches are in positions of authority in sport, and we are to “submit… to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” [Rom 13:1] Officials have been given authority to enforce the rules of the game, so booing or complaining about calls is wrong.  We are to submit to their authority, and so we are to let them do their work unhindered.  They report to supervisors who review their work.  We in the stands are not their superiors, and we have no authority over the game.  Christian spectators ought to refrain from anything that would undermine the authority of officials or coaches, but instead should submit to their decisions.

            Second, our role in the stands is one of encouragement and celebration.  The competing athletes are striving together to the best of their abilities, and it is the work of the spectator to encourage them to give their best.  We ought to cheer for the participants to be the best shortstops, goalies, runners, or centers that they can be.  We should be encouraging them to use their gifts to creatively celebrate the gift of play.  This is distinctly different from cheering for the detriment of the other team, which would not be in keeping with Christian encouragement.  The event before us is a game, not a battle.  It is played, not waged.  Dr. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., the President of Calvin Seminary, helps us to see our place in sport when he writes in Educating For Shalom, “Part of our calling as delighted creatures of God is to be playful.  War, for instance, isn’t playful.  Football is.  A prominent mistake is to confuse these things.” That prominent mistake is too often found in the bleachers, where fans forget that a game is being played, not a war being waged, and cheer against or try to discourage the other team or player.  Our calling is to encourage the athletes to glorify God by their efforts in competing, in striving together.

            This also requires celebration.  Celebrating a remarkable shot, an astonishing catch, a breath-taking homerun.  It is good to celebrate God’s goodness revealed in a deftly thrown ball or an exquisitely executed play.  When the players strive well and the result is a beautiful sight, it is most appropriate to stand up, cheer, and give your neighbor a high-five, for in using their bodies so adroitly, the players are prompting us to glorify their Creator.

            Unfortunately, the bleachers at our teams’ games too often resound not with encouragement and celebration for skillful performance, but with booing or shouting at referees, coaches, and players.  It is important for us as fans to know our role.  The referees and coaches use their authority to control and direct the game, the players use their bodies and skills to glorify the Creator, and we spectators are there to support, encourage, and celebrate the marvel that is displayed before us.  We are told in Scripture to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. [Phil 4:8] A third baseman snagging one-hop drive down the line and rifling the ball to first to beat the striving runner is admirable.  A smoothly executed pick-and-roll finished by a reverse lay-up is lovely.  A team moving efficiently down the field in a two-minute drill is excellent.  A cross-country runner straining side-by-side with a competitor in the last 50 yards is noble.  We ought to at least think about these things.  We should even stand up and cheer, and praise God for the excellent and praiseworthy efforts of the athletes, for they are glorifying their Creator.