12/21/24
September 28, 2002
Stop the holy showboating: "It is impossible to watch a sporting event these days without some spiritual revival meeting breaking out. There are prayers before the game, prayers of thanksgiving for mighty athletic feats, kneeling in a circle after the game. We have prayers after touchdowns, heaven-pointing after home runs, signs of the cross before free throws. It seems most post-game interviews begin with the 'thank the Lord' preamble."
Hallelluja to that.
posted by Fat Buddha at 10:51 AM on September 28, 2002
It's come to the point where I cringe at a display of faith after a touchdown, home run, etc. You wonder if they do it because of their deep faith or because it's the "thing" to do. And what do these same players do when not playing? Are they causing trouble a la Randy Moss (whom I have never seen do a religious gesture) when the cameras aren't on them?
posted by shackbar at 09:10 PM on September 28, 2002
I hate this practice too. I totally agree in this articel where it states God seemingly only shows himself to the winners. Just once I would like to hear a player said something about Him when they lose. If you want to join in prayer at the end of a game at midfield, that's fine by me but I do not think it is necessary after every play. Just my opinion...
posted by carbs at 08:09 PM on September 29, 2002
"I blame Jesus for this loss, that guy has got to get his head more in th game" -Randy Moss (ok, not really but still...)
posted by tj at 07:28 AM on September 30, 2002
"It is impossible to watch a sporting event these days without some spiritual revival meeting breaking out." Then don't watch it. Listen to the games on the radio. This article was a lot of words about nothing. If religous acts, whether fake or real, are to be eliminated, then so should every other emotional act in sports. Eliminate the flexing of muscles, the dancing in the end-zone, the facial expressions after a slam-dunk, and tell Tiger Woods he can no longer pump his fist and arm into the air after making a long putt. I'm sure there's a person somewhere who is offended by these actions. I want my sports teams to win. I don't care how they act on the field. Their actions do not influence me. Lighten up.
posted by munger at 10:28 AM on September 30, 2002
Nice article about a pretty silly practice. McGraw is concerned with "posturing" prayer or religious display- and that's exactly what we see week in and week out in the NFL. McGraw is also on target to admit that sport and religion have almost always been joined at the hip. You know, like the Olympics. Named after the god Olympian. So joined together are these concepts that the adjective "olympian" is used to refer to the loftiness and excellence of a feat. This is kind of like saying, "Did you see him jump that hurdle with jesusistic ease?" I digress... The point is that I doubt this will ever go away in sport. Does anyone else? I also wondered what this really had to do with the point McGraw was making: I know of no accountants who point to the heavens after they balance their ledgers. If posturing religious display is the problem, we certainly shouldn't expect to know any accountants who showboat in the quiet stillness of their office. But if they had cameras pointed on them, who knows?