June 2, 2006--Fanaticism XXXVII--Christians 21; Heathens 0
Baseball has long been called our National Pastime. Could it be that football is fast becoming our National Religion?
I am not talking here about players from opposing teams at the end of a bruising battle gathering at midfield for a prayer service. Or how some teams have their own chaplains. Or how some players before batting or after hitting a home run cross themselves or point up to God in heaven. Or about how one NBA team allegedly has signs posted in its locker room reminding them that they should exhibit Christian values.
None of this is quite my favorite thing. I confess that I even have problems with the Marine Color Guard participating in the singing of the National Anthem and the Blue Angels flying over the field at the start of the Super Bowl. This is about something categorically different, something much more pernicious. As reported in today’s NY Times, this is about the virtual transformation of a growing number of ballgames into quasi-church services. (Article linked below.)
In Birmingham, Alabama, the local minor league indoor football team, the Steeldogs, which traditionally has Frisbee Night as a promotional event to bring out fans, added Faith Night to their schedule, and as a result filled the stadium. In the words of one team executive—the goal of these events is always “to put more fannies in the seats.”
It is not clear if fans came to hear Audio Adrenaline, a Christian band, or to receive bobblehead dolls depicting biblical characters, or to receive the free Bibles. But then perhaps it was to see the players in their new jerseys that had biblical verses printed on the back.
If you think this is a phenomenon peculiar to Alabama think again—a company that helps teams organize these spiritual evenings this year staged 70 such events in 44 cities around the entire country. And, are you seated, the Atlanta Braves are planning three Faith Nights this season! And not to be outdone, so are the Diamondbacks and Marlins.
The teams are attempting to be sensitive to non-Christians who might be in attendance and so the bobblehead dolls tend to be of Old Testament figures. But the reality is that most nights of this kind are quite Christian. I doubt if too many places have engaged a Bar Mitzvah band on Faith Night to play the Hora.
The Atlanta Braves are totally out of the closet in their planning—they will offer an hour and a half of Christian music before the game plus a religious testimonial from their ace relief pitcher John Smoltz. That should assure a victory.
The good news is that the bottom-line is still very much front-and-center: the general manager of the Somerset Patriots, a New Jersey minor league baseball team says that at their Faith Nights they don’t want to “go over the top” with their religious messages. He is concerned, after all, that if they do it will affect beer sales.
I am not talking here about players from opposing teams at the end of a bruising battle gathering at midfield for a prayer service. Or how some teams have their own chaplains. Or how some players before batting or after hitting a home run cross themselves or point up to God in heaven. Or about how one NBA team allegedly has signs posted in its locker room reminding them that they should exhibit Christian values.
None of this is quite my favorite thing. I confess that I even have problems with the Marine Color Guard participating in the singing of the National Anthem and the Blue Angels flying over the field at the start of the Super Bowl. This is about something categorically different, something much more pernicious. As reported in today’s NY Times, this is about the virtual transformation of a growing number of ballgames into quasi-church services. (Article linked below.)
In Birmingham, Alabama, the local minor league indoor football team, the Steeldogs, which traditionally has Frisbee Night as a promotional event to bring out fans, added Faith Night to their schedule, and as a result filled the stadium. In the words of one team executive—the goal of these events is always “to put more fannies in the seats.”
It is not clear if fans came to hear Audio Adrenaline, a Christian band, or to receive bobblehead dolls depicting biblical characters, or to receive the free Bibles. But then perhaps it was to see the players in their new jerseys that had biblical verses printed on the back.
If you think this is a phenomenon peculiar to Alabama think again—a company that helps teams organize these spiritual evenings this year staged 70 such events in 44 cities around the entire country. And, are you seated, the Atlanta Braves are planning three Faith Nights this season! And not to be outdone, so are the Diamondbacks and Marlins.
The teams are attempting to be sensitive to non-Christians who might be in attendance and so the bobblehead dolls tend to be of Old Testament figures. But the reality is that most nights of this kind are quite Christian. I doubt if too many places have engaged a Bar Mitzvah band on Faith Night to play the Hora.
The Atlanta Braves are totally out of the closet in their planning—they will offer an hour and a half of Christian music before the game plus a religious testimonial from their ace relief pitcher John Smoltz. That should assure a victory.
The good news is that the bottom-line is still very much front-and-center: the general manager of the Somerset Patriots, a New Jersey minor league baseball team says that at their Faith Nights they don’t want to “go over the top” with their religious messages. He is concerned, after all, that if they do it will affect beer sales.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
10:29 AM
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