Football & Religion

Since I was a kid, we're talking 4 or 5, Saturdays in the fall meant football.  It's what my family did on the weekend.  We'd load up the camper, head to Bojangle's for tailgate grub, and be at the stadium at least 4 hours before kick off.  Every home game.  For about 14 years of my life (at which point I moved down by the stadium, started attending college, and had a tailgate tradition of my own). 

You see, in my family, football on Saturday was just as normal as church on Sunday.  At church, whether you're a choir member, a front row sitter, or an I'm-coming-in-late-during-a-prayer kind of church goer, you always have the same seat. And having the same seat meant you knew all the people next to you.  Sense of community.  Fellowship.  At the stadium, we had the same spot every year.  Seriously.  My parents' season tickets meant that I grew up in those seats.  Everyone around us new us, too.  It was our own little football family.  And as I got older, nearby fans loved to remind me of my younger days, wearing cheerleading outfits to every game and nearly beating everyone to death with my pom poms from excitement. 

Aside from the seating, church and football are both emotional places.  I've seen grown men cry at both.  I've seen young children molded by both.  And both have made my life very full.  I remember the day I accepted Christ, and I remember the day Carolina won its first bowl game (which was followed by giving thanks to God over and over).  Funny how football does that.  (wouldn't you love to ask God how many football related prayers He gets August-January.. the Football Faither... He'd probably love to talk to many of these praying fans more often).

As emotional as both are, they also instill so much faith and hope.  When my life has had pitfalls, I've always grown closer to God.  It's crazy how we hit our knees more often when things aren't going well for us, isn't it?  It's in those moments I realize how much I need Him.  And, when it comes to football, it's a similar situation.  When my guys have gone 0-11, 1-10, did I pack it up and forget about them?  Nope.  During those awful times, it just made me realize how much I love Carolina (*side note- I, too, was guilty of being a Football Faither, God sure heard a lot of football related prayers from me during this time).

Oh, and on Saturday and Sunday you heard lots of talk about the man upstairs, only in much different contexts...

In any event, football in our family has always been a big deal.  A way of life.  And, most of my friends grew up the same way.  It's a southern thing.  We all plan events around football.  Weddings, parties, gatherings, going-outta-townings, I've even had friends plan getting pregnant around the football schedule (which ain't a bad idea).  We all invite conversation surrounding our teams, and we all embrace the fellowship and community that comes from cheering our guys on (you know- the high fives, the screams, the jumping up and down together, the fist pumps, the status messages, the phone calls, the did-you-see-that-play texts).

Football might not be a religion, but in many respects we treat it like one in the south.  And, while my religion is first in my life, I take comfort in knowing that football was sent from God.