Sports and virtue — in today’s culture, these words are strange bedfellows. Consider the uproar of late over quarterback Tim Tebow and his unabashed actions that proclaim he is a Christian role-model. From the attention he gets, you would think he was a serial killer rather than an athlete who prays publicly and lives his faith.
In our culture, we are much more accustomed to seeing sports figures who flaunt their talent and bad habits, dancing and preening in the limelight and the end zone.
That is why I was brought to tears the other day while driving my 11-year-old son home from his basketball game this past weekend. I had just gotten over lamenting the state of sports and the behavior I had just witnessed during another basketball game that day.
We arrived early at the gymnasium at the school hosting the game – it was an away game for my son, who is supposed to arrive one hour before his games begin. So I sat in the stands and watched the 6th grade girls battle through their contest first. (Our school’s 6th grade B team consists mostly of younger players and they were quite outmatched by their opposition.) Three of the girls on the other team were very talented and in the second half, were scoring liberally. We were down by almost 20 points, a wide margin for a girls’ game, especially at that level. Sadly, I noticed the opposing coach did not sit his “best” players down, and continued to run up the score. I have to say, I hate to witness this type of games.
Then my son’s game began. His team is undefeated in their league play and a formidable opponent. The team is “deep” and almost all their players are talented, so few sit the bench at all, and the coach easily substitutes throughout the game.
Our boys quickly upped the score to a 20-point lead, and they started making their usual 10 or so passes before they shoot. As the game got down to the end, I noticed a scuffle under the opposing basket. The other team was getting all the rebounds (I was happy to see) and they finally scored a final 2 points at the buzzer. The other team’s fans erupted in applause.
I mentioned this to my son on the drive home.
“Yeah,” he said. “We were hoping two of their players would score. They haven’t scored all year, and their Dad, who has terminal cancer, was at the game. Coach told us to back off a little so they could score.”
I had to choke back a sob as I absorbed what he said, and in such a matter of fact tone! As if it was no big deal!
Kudos to Everest Academy in Clarkston, Michigan, and Coach Joe Delisle of the 6th grade Mountaineers, and to all the coaches and schools who try to make their sports program a School of Virtue.
