Rev. Dr. Devin Strong

Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church

I am not a huge sports guy, except when it comes to football. (For those who care, the college season began on Aug. 26 and the pro season begins Sept. 7).

 Football carries a lot of nostalgia for me. I grew up watching it with my grandfather and my father. My deepest football loyalties belong to the University of Michigan Wolverines. I grew up about a half an hour from Ann Arbor where the Maize and Blue play. In addition, my best buddy from high school went to U of M, and I was fortunate to spend many of the weekends of my high school senior year enjoying the glories of that great college town, so I have been watching my beloved Wolverines play football for more than 40 years! To this day, I have several friends that I text with as we watch the games together from all across the country, living and dying with every play. When Michigan loses, I’m down in the dumps, and when they win, I’m on top of the world.

Objectively speaking, this is silly. I have never played football, I did not go to U of M personally, and aside from screaming in the stands or yelling at the TV, I have never done a thing to help them win, so what right do I have to call them “my team” or share their victories? Even worse, sports rivalries can be quite divisive.

Most of this is done in jest, but I have seen it go too far. I confess that I have found myself thinking less than charitable thoughts about Michigan’s rivals, including Notre Dame, Michigan State, and of course, The dreaded Ohio State University! In truth, despite their height and girth, the guys that play for these schools are just kids whose educations and careers may well depend on their football performance, so what business do I have rooting against them just because they are wearing the wrong color jerseys?

Neither my wife nor I, nor our children played sports in school, so fandom is kept in check at our house, but my sister’s entire family were and are excellent athletes.

My sister and her husband spent thousands of dollars and countless hours outfitting, training, and chauffeuring their kids to their games all across the region. When my niece was a senior in high school, she tore her ACL and was forced to spend much of that soccer season on the bench. Still, she and my sister felt the need to travel from Atlanta all the way to Jacksonville one Saturday just to sit on the bench and cheer her team on for one particular tournament.

This makes me wonder how many people would come to church on Sunday if our congregation’s worship happened to be in Daytona or Chattanooga. Of course, I know that the answer is decidedly zero! As I, and thousands and thousands of other football fans, get ready for our teams to suit up for another season on the gridiron, I have to consider where the deepest commitments of our calendars and wallets, our passions and loyalties, truly lie. To what are you and I willing to give our whole selves? Do we have our priorities straight?

God Loves You, and So Do I!