Well, my Packers won their first game in the post Brett Favre era. No sustained drives - so that's a little scary, but it still brought a smile.

I think there's a touch of spirituality in a sports fan's following of his or her team - it is a potentially significant journey, something like faith. Ok - this probably really sounds like a stretch, but think about the empathic relationship between fan and team - shared joys, shared suffering, loyalty, etc. I know church and God are usually far from the mind when watching a game (unless a player is thanking God for the last play - of course, only when it worked out best for them). Nevertheless, there is a sense of vulnerability involved in really caring about your team - not so "manly" (for the men who root) to have your whole day ruined or made great, as if your emotions were not in your control.

Now if we could get more peole to expand these aspects of their sports fandom, and extend them more deeply to and with the people they come into contact with on a day to day basis, maybe we'd live in a better world.

I've said it before, and I'll say it many times again. The church should consider it's job to be just this: showing people the spirituality they already practice, the connectedness to others and to what Ultimately matters, and help people expand the practices and connections. It isn't about getting people to have the church's experience any more, it's about the church showing the sanctity of life as it is.

That's my two cents. And it's mostly upbeat since the Packers (Good) just triumphed over the Vikings (evil). ;^)