LO O K I N G AT L I F E
Sport Why We Love
so Much
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Why We Love
Sport so Much by Mike Raiter
we aussies like sport. In fact, you could say we love sport. We love to play sport: over the past year, some two-thirds of Australians took part in some form of physical activity, the most popular being football and swimming. We also love to watch sport: each year, about half of all Aussies attend at least one sporting event. Football and horse racing were the top favourites. With sport being so popular, it’s not surprising that more and more people are making their living by it. For almost 100,000 men and women, sport is their main job, and the numbers are growing all the time. The late cricket commentator, Peter Roebuck, once wrote in an article for The Age, “Sundays used to be spent listening to solemn sermons told by men with long faces. Shops were shut and children wore ties and collars . . . Now the masses 1
went not to church but to the cricket, spent their Sabbaths watching some bloke called Simmo whack the ball to the boundary.” Every November, the state of Victoria takes a day off to watch a three-minute horse race, the Melbourne Cup. And now the government has declared the day before the Australian Football League Grand Final a public holiday so the whole city can come out and watch the parade. No wonder Donald Horne, the author of The Lucky Country, once observed that “sport to many Australians is life and the rest a shadow”. None of this is meant to imply that enjoying and taking part in sport is a bad thing. In fact, apart from being a source of enjoyment and leisure, sport has physical value: exercise is good for health and keeps us fit. It has moral value: men and women learn to work together and support each other to achieve a common goal. And it has spiritual value: as athletes press on to win the prize, they inspire others to strive towards a higher goal.
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Sport – A New Religion? there is nothing wrong with playing and watching sport. The only problem comes when we turn what is meant for our enjoyment into an object of devotion. Sport is good until it becomes an obsession. Some observers go even further in describing Aussies’ love of sport. Former national sprinter Kevan Gosper, when he was heading the Australian Olympic Committee, once said, “The manifest religion in this country is sport, not Christianity, in terms of daily lives, investment, preoccupation in the newspapers.” Is it really going too far to claim that sport is like a religion to many Aussies? Well, take a look at the language we sometimes use for our favourite games and matches. After the Socceroos won a key World Cup match a few years ago, an exultant commentator observed that “all the crowd sang from the same hymnal”, “the CEO of Soccer Australia pronounced the benediction”, and “the crowd were worshipping their heroes”. When the Sydney Swans won an AFL game, it was said that “the Red Sea opened and Plugger led us through to the Promised 3
Land”. The Sydney and Melbourne Cricket Grounds are regularly spoken of as “shrines” and “holy turf”, while Stadium Australia has been likened to a cathedral. The story is told of several men who took a day off to watch the Australian Grand Prix. Filling in the form to explain their absence from work, they wrote “religious festival”. Of course, many of these comments were made with tongue firmly in cheek. It is, however, no stretch to compare many Aussies’ reverence for sport with their reverence for God. In many cases, one has replaced the other. A hint of this can perhaps be seen in the way we adore, adulate, and even worship our sporting stars. One good example is the veneration and praise heaped on Sir Donald Bradman. When this gifted cricketer died in February 2001, some obituaries likened him to God. One said of the Don: “we were tempted to regard him as one of the divinities, so great he was and such an impact he made”. Another noted, “Of course, he was not God, but in a country where sport was a religion, and the Ashes like a holy war, Donald Bradman was a God substitute.” 4
The Need to Worship so why are we so obsessed with sport? Why do we worship our top athletes and our favourite teams, and watch our games with so much reverence and emotion? For sure, we sometimes idolise teams and personalities because we deeply identify with them: their victory is our triumph. Like them, we want to be the best, the greatest, and the most famous. But here’s another reason to consider, as to why we revere these men and their teams. Is it possible that apart from our nature to love, work, and play, we also possess an innate desire to revere and worship someone greater than ourselves? Could it be that deep down, all of us have an intense longing for satisfaction, security, and a sense of significance that we believe only a greater being can provide? A look at the religious activities of many people around the world seems to support this hypothesis. From time immemorial, in different cultures and in different societies, we find people worshipping all kinds of deities. Some bow down to statues that resemble a superhuman. Some kneel before idols of birds, animals, and reptiles. Others 5
look to the stars for guidance. They entrust their lives to supernatural beings or natural phenomena, or they believe in the spirits that are said to inhabit mountains, trees, and rivers. Some people may choose to reject the idea of a supreme being, however, and create someone or something else to worship. Perhaps that’s where some of our “gods of sports” come in—the star athletes and teams whose devotees willingly attend their weekly “worship services” on the cricket ground, in the football stadium, and on the rugby pitch, and pledge eternal loyalty to (so long as they keep winning). Their cause is a premiership title, their reward a golden trophy to be lifted high. Sadly, however, these false gods can only disappoint us, because they will not be able to meet our deepest needs and longings—at least not forever. They may give us some momentary satisfaction and thrills, but these will not last. Even the biggest stars will soon show their age and frailty. The best team will eventually lose and fade into obscurity. The problem is that all these gods are far too small. The cause they want us to sign up to—a premiership or a trophy— is far too trivial. We long for something 6
bigger—something that lasts and won’t disappoint us. Shouldn’t we try to look for the ultimate God—the Creator of the universe, the true God of sport?
The One Who Deserves Our Worship
consider this: The Bible describes a God who is big enough for our worship. One who will not grow old and die, one who will not fade away, and one who will always be victorious. This is the same God that many of the most gifted and successful sporting stars—whom we adulate and sometimes turn into gods—worship. They know that their skills and success all come from the God of sport, not the god that sport has become. Australian footballer Gary Ablett Jr., seen as one of the greatest Australian Football League players, thanked God publicly when he won the Brownlow Medal in 2009. While he could have— like many others—taken the credit for his skills and ability, he instead chose to acknowledge God as the source of his talent and success. Former All Blacks rugby star Brad Thorn, too, saw sport in a different light 7
when he became a believer. He said: “I do feel now I have purpose. I believe there is a God that loves me. I want be a good father and husband and in a footy context give my best . . . Before I play, I say a simple prayer, honouring God through the way I play.”
Share in the True Victory why are these top athletes and stars
worshipping this God? It’s because they have discovered that He is the true God who deserves our worship. They have realised that no human, idol, or game can compare with the Creator himself. This God is big enough to give us a reason for living, and significant enough to satisfy our deepest longings. Unlike any team or personality, God is eternal. People and teams come and go, but this Creator will always be there for us; He will not grow old or fade into obscurity. While the thrill of games and the victories of our sports heroes are transient, God lives and reigns forevermore. Also, this God is a personal God. Unlike the heroes and teams whom we adore and worship from afar, this Creator seeks a personal relationship with us. When we worship sport and the 8
gods of sport, we may end up living in a fantasy world of fame and victory. We may celebrate when our favourite teams and players win, but their victories do not change the losses in our lives. We may identify with them, but they do not identify with us; our lives remain the same, and our loyalty may mean little to them. On the other hand, God identifies with each one of us, and is most concerned with our individual lives. He has given us many good things to enjoy, like sport, and wants us to know Him personally. He is the God who loves us, and longs to live with us eternally. John, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life� (John 3:16). Would you like to know more about this Creator, the ultimate God of sport? You will find Him in the pages of the Bible. Take a look at the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and see what they have to say about God and His love. And as you read about Jesus, ask God to speak to you and show himself to you. You may enjoy the victories and thrill of sport, but will you make it the god of 9
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Our Daily Bread Ministries produces a number of publications, available to you at no cost, that will
your life? Or will you worship the real God of sport? If you have been challenged to think further about Jesus, the best idea is to get hold of a Bible and start reading. We encourage you to make contact with a local church as well, where you can get additional help with any questions you might have. We at Our Daily Bread Ministries would also like to help! Our flagship devotional Our Daily Bread offers a thought or idea every day, to inspire, comfort, or encourage you. Additionally, you could also request related biblical materials by using the attached tear-off slip and return it to our office.
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