Faith and Sports

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
[b]Go Kitna! (Plus I have his top WR, Mike Furrey, on my fantasy team this week.) epiphinehas

You might want to sit Furrey. Evidently there's extra motivation for the Cowboys defense to shut them down. Kitna popped off last year after the Lions beat the Cowboys. I'm guessing it wasn't God "talking through him".[/b]

Yes, but most likely Detroit is going to play from behind, which means they'll be throwing it a lot. Dallas doesn't have the best secondary in the league either. I don't know. We'll see.

Originally posted by knightmeister
What's Furrey ? I'm from England where we still call soccer football because you can't pick the ball up and you actually use your feet a lot. Hence Foot - ball

BTW - Why is NFL called football , it should be called throw run catch ball eh?

Furrey is the Detroit Lion's wide receiver (the dude who tries to get open so Kitna, the quarterback, can rifle the pigskin into his hands).

Why is it called football? I'm not sure, exactly. Good question. It's definitely more akin to rugby than soccer. However, the ball does get bandied about by the feet from time to time, if that's any consolation. 🙂

Since we religious guys cannot say anything interesting without quoting the Bible, I will share a scripture passage which clearly proves that God had American football in mind from the foundation of the world:

"The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head" (Deut 28:35).

😉

Originally posted by epiphinehas
Yes, but most likely Detroit is going to play from behind, which means they'll be throwing it a lot. Dallas doesn't have the best secondary in the league either. I don't know. We'll see.

Well, Roy Williams is out so Furrey should get more touches than he has been. Plus, there'll likely be opportunity for some "garbage time" stats padding. He might have a shot. Though I suspect Kitna's gonna have plenty of time to count the lights.

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
There was a segment on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" on faith in sports, primarily the NFL.

While I've long found the idea of praying to play well as a curious practice, it seems like some are taking it to new levels. In particular, Jon Kitna who plays quarterback for the Detroit Lions. It sounds like Kitna prays throughout the game. Asking God to "guide ...[text shortened]...

I was wondering how many believe God gets involved in such things and to what degree.

Where is Jesus now that the Lions have dropped five in a row?

I am obviously not a Christian, but I can't imagine a greater perversion of faith than to beseech your god to help you throw a better pass. What kind of god would actively involve himself in the minutia of professional sports while ignoring tsunamis that drown 100,000+ people? That would seem to be a rather small, petty and capricious god to me.

Originally posted by rwingett
Where is Jesus now that the Lions have dropped five in a row?

I am obviously not a Christian, but I can't imagine a greater perversion of faith than to beseech your god to help you throw a better pass. What kind of god would actively involve himself in the minutia of professional sports while ignoring tsunamis that drown 100,000+ people? That would seem to be a rather small, petty and capricious god to me.

They also interviewed a former NFL player turner preacher and asked him how big a role faith should have in sports. His reply went something like this: "None. Absolutely none. God doesn't care what you do on the field. He cares what you do off of it."

Yet it seems that there plenty who worship the "God of Gimme".

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
Yet it seems that there plenty who worship the "God of Gimme".

The same one who gives us computers and tv sets, right?

Originally posted by SwissGambit
The same one who gives us computers and tv sets, right?

As near as I can tell.