Spirituality ... in the sports section?

Warren Bolon

There is good news for syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman right in her literary backyard. In one of her columns Ms. Goodman lamented women's lack of access to the peculiar and mainly male language of sports talk ("Why I'm feeling unPatriotic" Boston Globe, January 9, 1997). The hopeful sign was published on the same day just a few pages away in, of all places, the newspaper's sports section.

It was a story about the spiritual life of a football team. Now, it's probably fair to say that an Internet word search on the combined terms spirituality and football would turn up precious few, um, hits. Sports fans have grown accustomed to seeing male and female athletes openly crying over wins and losses, and men hugging one another; however the sight of athletes openly praying is a more recent phenomenon. Journalists, and television sports-casters in particular, often don't know what to say when an athlete credits God for his or her performance. Time to go back to the anchor desk!

While something approaching a revolution has dawned full force in the media's coverage of topics relating to spirituality, it has been rare in this sports fan's experience to see serious attention given to spirituality and religion by sports journalists. But that, too, is changing. It's the nature of a leavening agent to penetrate the whole mass. In this case the leaven is the reality of God's redeeming love, and it's human consciousness that's being transformed.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Taking a more serious look at things of the Spirit