Faith and Sports – by Eric Jensen

Here we are: September, football, and school. I was having a hard time coming up with the article for this month. It is so crystal clear to me now though. This month I want to talk about God’s greatest gift. That to me, is football.

I love football. More than just about any activity in the world. More than any TV show, or food, or book, or painting. I love football more than some people. It is the escape I have every Sunday. Sometimes it’s the way I worship. I sit down with my snacks and a notebook, and take notes and watch football. It is when I am most calm. I am not the loud fan that you find at a sports bar.  I watch the game with reverence; hanging on to every word the commentators use and every violent crash of players in autumn. I am just, present. There is nowhere I am more present on this earth than in my own living room watching football. So thanks be to God for the magnificent sport of football!

 I wanted this column to be a bit different this month, so I am asking you the reader to help me out. I want to know what your “football” is. What is the one thing, outside of worship, that makes you feel the most present and connected with God? Why do you think that is? I invite you to send your responses to me at utaheric18@gmail.com . For October, my favorite month of the year I will compile them and they will become next months Faith and Sports article. Now I must escape back into the world of non-stop college work.  So, take time and consider, what activity makes me feel most connected to God? Below is a poem I wrote, about football.

The Contained Violence of Fall