The 2004 season was one of the better years to be a Minnesota Vikings fan. At the time, I had a close friend on my dorm floor who was a quick-witted aspiring journalist and a Packers fan. Of course, we would trash-talk and duke it out. Also, being students at Christian college, we did, in a humorous and non-serious manner, purport our respective football teams, for various reasons, as “God’s team,” and therefore all losses and disappointments had some type of biblically-analogous reason. For example, my friend often compared the Packers’ woes with the suffering of Job, arguing that championships tenfold will come to those who are patient and humble (this certainly seems more tenable today). I, on the other hand, compare the Vikings’ dramatic narrative of the past several seasons with the early monarchies of Israel, how they suffered due to top-down corruption but can rebuild under grace and new leadership.
This anecdote came to mind, because theology of football, if there is such a term, is becoming more of a popular topic. Tim Tebow is far from being the first self-dubbed follower of Christ to also gain positive attention as a football player for the NFL, but he’s seemingly the most outspoken (and therefore most covered) about his faith in a world arguably more cynical, divided and politically-charged. He doesn’t put up phenomenal numbers (what first-year starter does?) and he hasn’t yet won over John Elway, but he led the Broncos to win many more games and to their first playoff berth since 2005.
And he thanks God for it. Like grace before a meal, he sees victory as a blessing from God and an opportunity for further stewardship.
The problem is that both Christians and the un-like are interpreting a bad theology of football. One blogger commented, “Is God now a Broncos fan?” It seems to some (e.g. the Baltimore Ravens‘ Terrell Suggs) that God’s favor and power are upon the Broncos as it’s the only explanation/miracle why a team and QB with unimpressive numbers can make it to the playoffs. Others wonder what type of God Tebow worships, since He seems to be investing His omnipotence in empowering a struggling football team led by one of His followers, but not so much world hunger or systemic injustice. Many, also, are making a direct correlation between Broncos‘ success and Tebow’s “terms” with God, as if only God could let the Broncos lose if Tebow simply hadn’t prayed enough, etc.
Needless to say, we’ve gone unhealthfully far from the playful football theology of my college years. There’s two quick points I need to make, both as an NFL fanatic and a pastor.
God does not “take sides” in a football game. Neither should Christians. This doesn’t mean that we, as Christians, can’t cheer for our regional team in good fun, but it does mean that we can’t attach the image of God to a person or organization in a way where God’s very essence and divine will is readable and understood through football statistics. (No, I’m not a fan of the name “Jesus” being on Tebow jerseys). A Christian can’t deny that God has a hand in the world that is the NFL, but (unless perhaps someone shows me, in the Bible, where God made an Abrahamic covenant with the Broncos) we can’t assume a legalist spiritual correlation between Tebow’s spiritual life and the team’s success, especially when there are NFL players/coaches with more experience in the sport and in the faith whose teams have losing records. The will of God is a bit more complex and cryptic than this.
When Jesus said that the “rain falls on the just and the unjust,” He was encouraging Christians to be the first to, in a chaotic and hostile world, to love their enemies. Yet, Christian Tebow fans like to take sides. Some extreme fans, strangely, see Tebow’s success on the field as a validation of everything they have in common in with him, even the faith itself. That’s a lot riding on his young shoulders. What if he becomes a “draft bust”? What if he gets caught in a scandal?
We need a better vision for the “successful NFL Christian superstar.” To paraphrase Paul, Tebow’s struggles are not just against pads and secondaries. The off-field lifestyle of the NFL player, being the most lucrative professional sport, can (and often has) become one of greed, materialism, complacency, crime and all the decadence the salary can afford. This is where Christian leaders in the NFL (e.g. quarterbacks, coaches, team captains, etc.) can stand out in their team-building, didacticism, morale-boosting and charity.
It truly fascinates people how Christians can reject the NFL’s unbiblical cultural norms and still succeed in the league (e.g. Tony Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory without ever raising his voice), but also how they spend their time/money off the clock. Tony Dungy serves as a national mentor to prison inmates and also to men aspiring to be better fathers. Kurt Warner fundraises and donates to hospitals and works for Civitas International, helping the developmentally disabled. The list goes on.
If a Christian NFL player strives for true biblical living, all the while rejecting the unhealthful, egotistical and materialistic lifestyle stereotypes, no on-the-field disappointments can truly be a blemish on God’s name. If, however, a Christian NFL player is all mouth and no actions (on and off the field), distinguishing himself positively, then there’s even more bad football theology to deal with than the current.
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