The Sports Of Sports And Religion - 1482 Words

So who do you really want on your team? There is a real debate going on. Would you rather be on a team with a born-again Christian, who would rather read the Bible than the playbook, or a with a party going statistic acquiring machine that stays out late getting drunk, or is constantly seeking performance enhancing drugs? This question has been going back since the beginning of professional sports, and it probably will never be answered. The co-existence of sports and religion occur throughout most nations. Character building, discipline, physical fitness, competitions, constant practices, mental fitness, fairness, rules, nationalism, religiosity, and so on, continue to help build a beautiful intriguing positive society. Among some†¦show more content†¦According to Achebe (1980) the elders of the two communities involved in the wrestling contest visited the shrines and consulted their gods, offering sacrifices, led by their priests and priestesses, for blessings to ensure they won the contest. During the contest, the drummers beat their drums like those possessed and this it was believed signified the presence of the spirits who were the determining factors in the results of the contest. In the modern society today, there are a number of interesting likes between sports and religion, including the worship of athletes as gods and heroes (e.g. LeBron James, Tom Brady, etc.), of symbols of Faith such as trophies, baseballs, game balls, and sport-related souvenirs, and the charisma that is attached to the elites and leaders in the sport world. Sports and religion have often been used to create strong emotions and celebrate selected group values through rituals and public events. There are many subjective examples of how religion has been used to simply reaffirm and intensify angles that lead to success in competitive sports. Some pastors challenge those with doubts on the co-existence of sport and religion by emphasizing dimensions of training and sport participation that fit well with the certain aspects of the Protestant Ethic. Some athletes and coaches may use their religion as a source of psychological support as