Phil sent me this great article the last time I had one of my anti-football rants. What struck me after reading the article was how similar my views of sports and religion are. The esteemed author, one Leonard Pitts, Jr., is trying to persuade me and the rest of us that sports are important. He says:
"I met a woman the other day who thinks sports commands entirely too much of our attention. She has a point, I suppose. Sports isn't teacher important. Isn't rabbi, cop or firefighter important. But that isn't to say it doesn't matter at all. It does.
Yes, because it's a classroom for the verities and virtues of life — the importance of practice, mental toughness and teamwork. But also, because it makes people say 'we.'"
Frankly, I think you're better off in marching band (unless of course, you were in the MSU band's drum corps in the early 90's and had to endure a hazing ritual called "assing" - yeah, it's pretty much what you think it is). At least you might not rip your knees to shreds and you'll actually have to use your brain.
Pitt goes on to say: "Sports is about the human need to choose sides. It is a seasonal chance to be part of something. Maybe even something great. That's why we wear your colors and point you out to our kids. Why we linger over sepia memories of glory days and tell ourselves that this might be the year those days return."
Ah, now we're really getting somewhere, folks. This is where my comparison kicks in. Sports, like religion, is about the human need to belong. It is also about the human need to exclude others who are deemed "unworthy." This is why some huddle on the couch with 3 pounds of fatty snacks and others huddle in the pews with a nice hymnal. They're both hoping that their team is going to win the championship, and they can do their victory dance to taunt the losers. Their identity becomes so wrapped up in these that any affront to their team is an affront to them. It's sheer vanity to believe that sports teams care about the fans or that there's a god who "created us in his image" and loves us. The evidence doesn't bear this out.
8:12:30 PM 
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