Sports News

On my way back from the Eden Church, I was listening to Fox News on XM Radio. Please don't judge me for listening to Fox News! ;) Coming back from a commercial break, the radio host went into a tirade about how obsessive people can be when it comes to sports news. He proceeded to read the headlines from an "unnamed" sports web page. Based on the headlines, I could tell he was reading from espn.com. He made light of each headline, mockingly stating how "important" these stories were. When I heard one of the headlines, I thought about how I needed to check the website to get details. D'oh! I fell right into his trap.

This happened a few weeks ago, but I continue to wrestle with his little tirade. I understand what he was getting at. There are certainly issues in the world more important than sports. There are many local, state, national and world events going on in our world that should command our attention. There are people filled with lots of inane sports trivia, but couldn't tell you anything related to the health care debate or the situations in Afghanistan or Iraq. But, this also has to do something setting limits.

For me, sports is a hobby. It is certainly something that is important to me. I appreciate the camaraderie that comes with talking with fellow fans of the hometown team. I appreciate watching history as records are broken and rivalries unfold. I appreciate the excitement of a big play at a key moment. I sometimes think people that are not into sports are really missing out. I do, however, try to set a limit on it. I have to put sports in perspective to other things that are important to me: God, my family, my responsibilities as a pastor, my responsibilities to our home, hobbies, etc.

Some people do take sports to an excess. Everyone takes something to excess. We all have hobbies and interest that can easily take up a lot of our time. They're fun for us. We lose track of time while doing them. It's more fun than work or life responsibilities. But, we need to learn control. We need to learn boundaries when it comes to these things.

I want to tell the Fox News gentlemen to relax a little bit. I think sports can be an easy scapegoat, especially with tons of website and 24 hour TV channels that constantly feed us with sports. But, he does make a point that transcends the realm of sports. We need to realize the role that hobbies play in our life. They should take a proper place behind those things that truly matter to us. They should take a proper place in what life is really about.

Sports are fun, but they are not our lives.