Will the NFL Cease to Exist?
In an interview this week, Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard made a very provocative statement. Pollard, who is known for very hard hits, stated that, in his opinion, the NFL would cease to exist within 30 years. I have to say that I have seen plenty of coverage of this story that failed to mention the part of his quote where he stated that this was just his opinion.
Still, the reason he said this is more important. He basically said that there are too many rules being changed that have taken away the physicality of the sport and that fans would eventually get tired of watching it.
So why am I writing about this on a Christian blog? It’s not because I think the National Football League will be around or not in a few years. Let’s be honest: if the world stands long enough, the NFL won’t be here forever.
Instead, I want to think about the underlying reason behind Pollard’s statement.
I love sports. I follow a lot of sports and used to watch a ton. I said, “Used to” because we no longer have TV. In 2009, we turned off our satellite package and have not had cable or satellite since. So, I still follow sports closely, but I only watch a few games each year.
Since I haven’t been able to watch as many games, here is something that I have noticed. The “big hits” that used to just be part of my viewing of a game really bother me now. I cringe a lot more when I see a football player get crushed over the middle. I can hardly stand to watch commercials for boxing or MMA.
I just wonder if we are not so used to things that are quite violent that it doesn’t phase us any longer. And today, I’m just thinking out loud. I just wonder if that’s good. I know this post is not going to change your mind. I just want your feedback.
Now, let me say this: I am not saying that football (or any other sports, for that matter) is sinful or evil. But I want you to honestly think for a moment.
- Does it give you great pleasure to see a football player completely laid out? Do you even get a little smile inside if you know that person on the other team is hurt?
- When you watch a sport like hockey, are you secretly wishing for a bench-clearing brawl?
- If you aren’t into auto racing, do you still like to see the crashes?
I don’t think any of us would actually say that we like to see people get hurt. But I do think that, when we are complaining because “big hits” aren’t allowed any longer, we may need to look within.
As a fan of sports, I have to admit that I’m a bit surprised at myself for writing this article! But I have truly noticed a change now that I am not watching game after game after game. I like good competition. I like strategy. I like athletes who are able to push the boundaries of human strength and speed.
Also, I understand that contact and even certain levels of “violence” are inherent in most sports. Even my favorite sport–basketball–offers a player coming off a “hard” screen and laying out on the wooden floor.
But I just wonder how far we are from celebrating the extremely violent. I just wonder how many Christians love the harder hits, the fights, and the crashes.
I just wonder how far is too far.
QUESTION: What are your thoughts? I’d love to see your comments on this subject.
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Photo credit: Justin Russell on Creative Commons
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4 Comments
Christian Money Blog
This is a subject I’ve given a lot of thought to. I think the violence within sports, boxing, and MMA is a product of our national views on death, war, and violence. It reminds me somewhat of the ancient Romans who watched gladiators being torn apart for thrill.
The disturbing part for me is the Christians who seem to eat this stuff up. It is bothersome to watch someone be knocked cold on the football field or the MMA ring. I used to be desensitized to the whole process as well. I’m not really sure what changed in my own mind, but it just no longer felt OK to watch two men try to destroy each other inside the octagon.
Like you guys, we now only have local television and only watch sports on an occasional weekend. It really is amazing how addicted most of society is to the TV. We have people over to our house and they don’t know what to do with themselves b/c our TV isn’t on 24/7. Hopefully your post will make Christians begin to re-consider their love of violence.
Oliver
Adam Faughn
Thanks for your comment, Oliver. Like I said in the article, this was really me “thinking out loud” about a subject that I struggle with.
It really struck me over the holidays when I got to watch more sports and found myself cringing at nearly every “semi-hard” hit. Since then, I’ve just been wondering…well…about what I wrote today. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
Wendy Wadley
Thank you for this article! It’s refreshing
to hear a Christian man examine the idea of violence in sports! I hear frequent
reports of how the infectious idea of “winning at all cost” in sports
activities is spawning more and more violent means of achieving that bigger
number on the scoreboard.
I recently attended a large youth
retreat where one of the evening activities was attending a hockey game. Many
of the men (in the church who were preachers and teachers) were hoping for an
all out brawl. They were excited just at the mention of it in such a way that
it seemed to be the whole point of going. I don’t understand the need some
people have to see bloody noses, broken bones, referees knocked to the ground,
etc. They act like they “feed” on it. It excites them. Yet, it has
nothing to do with who has the better team. It has nothing to do with skill,
strategy, or good, healthy competition.
So many folks seem to have such an
intense blind loyalty to their team that they will “overlook” and
“justify” and even “cheer” the violent and coarse behaviors on the
field, but would never allow the same thing in their homes and schools (I hope).
I, too, understand the inherent nature of assumed violence within certain
contact sports- in other words, one would say that’s just the way the game is
played, it’s just a part of the game, it’s within the “rules” of the
game. But, when pain is inflicted needlessly, unashamedly or intentionally, and
people “excuse and enjoy” it, the line has definitely been crossed.
Participation of our children in
certain contact sports needs to be weighed carefully. There is a physical risk
as there is in everything we do. However, my greater personal concerns are the
“attitudes and ideas” that many of our little boys and girls come
away with. When the attitudes (and examples) of (some of) the adults are to
“dominate and destroy” by any means that they can get away with, what
does this tell our young ones? And how do these attitudes translate into other
areas of life?
For example, in some of the most popular
contact sports, while players are being pummeled, you have scantily clad,
sexually alluring young women in front of everyone cheering them on. Could that
be a contributing factor in “some” men’s minds that women are objects
to be dominated also, and what’s more that they “want” to be treated
that way? After all, he might think, “They are cheering this behavior on aren’t
they-they admire me, don’t they?” If a young man’s personal identity,
reputation and success is built around his physical prowess on the field at the
applause and the “stars-in-the-eyes” admiration of many along the
way, and if due to those things he is given a “pass” in other areas
of his life (school, church, etc.), then he can easily develop the idea that he
is above the rules. He might think that because people have
“overlooked” and “justified” his behavior in sports, that
the rules in other areas of life don’t apply to him either. If he is catered to
at home, church, school and everywhere else, as many of them usually are, then
he is being set up to have a strong sense of entitlement and a need to control
his surroundings to reinforce the identity he has, for years, known. The
attitudes of “entitlement” and “control” are the prevailing
attitudes among those men who later become abusive spouses. I’m not saying that
“sports leads to domestic violence,” but what I am saying is that
when and if these destructive attitudes are being promoted, encouraged, allowed,
or overlooked, then they can be a reinforcing or contributing factor, among
other influences, that could potentially justify violence against women in the
minds of some boys and men. We have all heard the reports of people
(politicians, athletes, actors, musicians, preachers, judges, businessmen, singers,
etc.) who are stars in the public eye, but at home make the lives of their
wives and children a living nightmare…one they can’t easily leave, after all,
who would believe them? Domestic violence is becoming an even greater problem
in our country, but also in the church.
I can not even count on both hands the number of women I know personally
(all of whom are Christians) who have been affected by this. The reality of this issue alone makes any
form of violence completely repulsive to me.
Sports can be such a wonderful way to
build growing bodies in a healthy and strong way. They can encourage playing
fair and operating within the rules. Positive, life-enhancing attitudes such as
persistence, patience, endurance and never giving up even when things aren’t
fair or are very difficult can also be learned through participation in sports.
They definitely can have a positive and helpful place in our lives.
However, that “place” has to
be well thought out as with everything else. We may want to ask ourselves some
of these questions regarding our involvement to help us keep this in a
Christian perspective: Is my participation, whether active or passive, causing
my loyalty to the Lord to diminish? Would I feel uncomfortable or awkward
relating my participation in sports to my walk with the Lord? Do I justify,
overlook, or make excuses for any misbehavior? If my favorite athlete or coach
cheated on the field or on his wife, what would my response be? Is this still
about healthy competition? Are my attitudes being strengthened in a positive
way, or is something lessor and destructive being fed my mind and spirit? Do I
view involvement with sports as a way of measuring whether or not someone is a
true man, a man’s man? Do I think I have made my favorite sport my idol? What
makes me admire the athletes I admire? Would I be willing to give up viewing or
going to an event in order to spend more time with my family or someone who
needs help? Is it in any way dividing my family? Would we want our sons and
daughters to be like these same people that are celebrated for such aggressive,
shameful, and violent behavior? Would we think twice before allowing our
daughters to keep company with someone who pushed the boundaries of fair play and
disregarded the rules on the field, in the ring, or on the track?
This may not be the feedback you
expected or were hoping to get. As a Christian woman, I realize I have a
different take on this than most of my Christian brothers I know. I am a
Christian wife of nearly 30 years. I home- educated all three of my children
all the way through until they got to college. They participated in sports and
learned many wonderful life lessons…two of which, I hope, are knowing where
to draw the line, and keeping the place of sports in its’ proper place with
respect to eternity and our mission as Christians. Thank you for your precious
Christian family and for the influence you have for the Lord. Thank you for
highlighting these ideas, especially since God’s word has quite a bit to say on
the issue of violence.
Adam Faughn
Wendy,
Wow! Your post really adds value to the discussion, which is what I want with this post. I realize that not everyone will agree on this issue, and there really is not a specific “line” that I am trying to set. Instead, this is an issue that, as you say, we “blindly” accept with very little thought. I’m hoping this post at least makes people think.
Thank you so much for sharing your heart on this issue!