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.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sports...Bringing Out the Best in People?
Last night there was a football game. It was on national TV. Many were anticipating this game for a long time. Brett Favre, who retired from football, decided to come back. The Packers said they moved on and traded him to the Jets. He was released after one year and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. If you know anything about football and watch any sports news, you had no choice but to be subjected to this storyline repeatedly. Even, The Onion had an article about this. Needless to say, there was a lot of talk about this.
The game ended with Minnesota winning...and Brett Favre had an amazing game. Folks were already bitter before the game on both sides of the issue. There are folks that truly hate Brett Favre because he played for teams beside the Green Bay Packers. There are folks that hate the Packers for ever letting Favre go when he still wanted to play. All of this hate can gotten considerably vocal and it was sad to see so much hatred and anger spewed out, especially over the internet.
Folks hoped that Favre would get injured during the game...
Really? How does one honestly hope on someone for such a stupid reason.
Over the last few years, I have learned not to allow sports to get me too riled up. Trust me, I still get emotional, but nowhere near where I used to. I can't be alone. There must be others who allow sports to take up too much of their lives and need a reality check. Sports should be entertaining. We shouldn't take them so seriously that we wish injuries on folks.
The game ended with Minnesota winning...and Brett Favre had an amazing game. Folks were already bitter before the game on both sides of the issue. There are folks that truly hate Brett Favre because he played for teams beside the Green Bay Packers. There are folks that hate the Packers for ever letting Favre go when he still wanted to play. All of this hate can gotten considerably vocal and it was sad to see so much hatred and anger spewed out, especially over the internet.
Folks hoped that Favre would get injured during the game...
Really? How does one honestly hope on someone for such a stupid reason.
Over the last few years, I have learned not to allow sports to get me too riled up. Trust me, I still get emotional, but nowhere near where I used to. I can't be alone. There must be others who allow sports to take up too much of their lives and need a reality check. Sports should be entertaining. We shouldn't take them so seriously that we wish injuries on folks.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
What Do We Value?
I am working my way through Too Small to Ignore, and I came upon a quote that addresses something that has bothered me for a long time. Wess Stafford writes:
"In our [modern] society, when a guy flips a basketball through a ten-foot-high hoop can make as much money in three hours as a school teacher, who is shaping the lives of the next generation, does in a year, something is horribly wrong with our values."
I could not agree more. And it's tough to agree with that statement, especially being the fan of sports that I am. I have seen the breakdowns for athletes who make over $20 million a year. The amount they make per game is just sickening. These athletes have talents and gifts that few of us have. So many of us enjoy seeing those gifts in action that we allow them to get paid an incredible amount of money to do it. And I suppose those chosen few with the right skills deserve to be paid for those skills.
There is no National Football League or Major League Baseball for teachers. Our most talented and gifted teachers don't necessarily get paid much more than other teachers and certainly don't get the same recognition. Yet teachers do some critical work in the formation of our children. How does this happen? I suppose athletes are the business of entertainment. People want to pay (and pay they do) to see them in action. Watching a teacher could be exciting, but most likely not to the same degree.
This may read funny coming from someone who appreciates what a capitalistic system does for us. Even with its flaws, it's a system that I believe works...and works well. I applaud any athlete that I read about that is willing to take some of their money and give it back to the community. Hey...live a good life, and put some money away for the part of your life when you can't be an athlete anymore. Not enough athletes are sound financial planners. But, with what's left...what do you need with it? What are you going to do with your $250 million contract?
Imagine all of the good that could be done with that money if they made some serious donations. I am not calling for socialism. Not at all. I am also not asking for them to be taxed more. What I am asking is that those who make way more money than they really need should share of their own accord.
When athletes are interviewed after a great performance in a game, they often thank God for giving them the abilities that they have. Well, that's good...and I applaud that. It was God that gave them that talent that they developed. How about you take on God's call to love your neighbor and take some of the million dollar salary and give it back to those in need. I know many athletes give to charities and many give quite a bit of money. But, you can't tell me there isn't a little more to give.
Please understand, we all could probably stand to give more to charity...I am no exception. But, it is my wish and my prayer that athletes, entertainers and others could see it in their hearts to take their blessings and be a blessing to others.
"In our [modern] society, when a guy flips a basketball through a ten-foot-high hoop can make as much money in three hours as a school teacher, who is shaping the lives of the next generation, does in a year, something is horribly wrong with our values."
I could not agree more. And it's tough to agree with that statement, especially being the fan of sports that I am. I have seen the breakdowns for athletes who make over $20 million a year. The amount they make per game is just sickening. These athletes have talents and gifts that few of us have. So many of us enjoy seeing those gifts in action that we allow them to get paid an incredible amount of money to do it. And I suppose those chosen few with the right skills deserve to be paid for those skills.
There is no National Football League or Major League Baseball for teachers. Our most talented and gifted teachers don't necessarily get paid much more than other teachers and certainly don't get the same recognition. Yet teachers do some critical work in the formation of our children. How does this happen? I suppose athletes are the business of entertainment. People want to pay (and pay they do) to see them in action. Watching a teacher could be exciting, but most likely not to the same degree.
This may read funny coming from someone who appreciates what a capitalistic system does for us. Even with its flaws, it's a system that I believe works...and works well. I applaud any athlete that I read about that is willing to take some of their money and give it back to the community. Hey...live a good life, and put some money away for the part of your life when you can't be an athlete anymore. Not enough athletes are sound financial planners. But, with what's left...what do you need with it? What are you going to do with your $250 million contract?
Imagine all of the good that could be done with that money if they made some serious donations. I am not calling for socialism. Not at all. I am also not asking for them to be taxed more. What I am asking is that those who make way more money than they really need should share of their own accord.
When athletes are interviewed after a great performance in a game, they often thank God for giving them the abilities that they have. Well, that's good...and I applaud that. It was God that gave them that talent that they developed. How about you take on God's call to love your neighbor and take some of the million dollar salary and give it back to those in need. I know many athletes give to charities and many give quite a bit of money. But, you can't tell me there isn't a little more to give.
Please understand, we all could probably stand to give more to charity...I am no exception. But, it is my wish and my prayer that athletes, entertainers and others could see it in their hearts to take their blessings and be a blessing to others.
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