I recently watched the Week 18 NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am a lifelong Steelers’ fan and it is the sporting team that I follow the closest (for many years of my life it may have even been considered an idol). Anyone who follows the NFL knows of the intense rivalry between the Steelers and Ravens, and the winner-take-all Sunday night matchup to get into the playoffs did not disappoint.
For much of the game, it was a slugfest. The game was played in twenty degree weather, and for three quarters the game was filled with penalties and defensive stands. Then the fourth quarter introduced blown coverages and a flurry of touchdowns, with two seconds left down 24-26, the Ravens had a chance to kick a 44 yard field goal to win the game and head to the playoffs. In the midst of almost certain defeat, Tyler Loop missed the field goal wide right to the euphoria of the home crowd (and me in my living room). As I relished the unexpected victory, it occurred to me that there was a correlation between what I had just experienced and the spiritual life. Sidenote: The endzone that Loop missed the field goal in was blessed by a Pittsburgh Catholic Priest before the game. I’m not saying anything, just giving you the facts.
Usually whenever sports are used as an analogy for the faith life, we talk about building virtue and working hard as an athlete mastering their craft or a teammate sacrificing for the good of the whole. But a virtue that is often not discussed is the virtue of fandom.
A fan follows their team without any real ability to influence games on a day to day basis. They can buy merchandise or invite others into fandom with them, but the only assistance that they can give a team is attending games. Even then, their assistance is only helpful within a whole body of fans who are there with them. As a whole, a fan is largely helpless, and at the mercy of the outcome of the actions of the players they are supporting. The mark of a true fan is one who stays with their team through thick and thin.
This is humanity before the incarnation. This is humanity before Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We could try to follow God’s will, but we could ultimately not ‘win the game’ or even compete against Satan. No matter how righteous our ancestors could be, they fell into sin. The only thing that we could do was wait and be fans of a Messiah who could save us.
And when Jesus came, it was not instant victory. It was thirty years of growing up with little to note from those years, not unlike the first three quarters of the Ravens and Steelers Week 18 matchup. And then there were the highs and lows of the three years of Jesus’ three year ministry, not unlike the final ten minutes where the Steelers and Ravens traded four touchdowns scoring more points than they did in the first three quarters of the game. And finally, there was certain defeat on the cross on Good Friday, not unlike the Ravens lining up for a field goal that Tyler Loop makes nine times out of ten. But then comes the resurrection: an empty tomb like a field goal pushed right. Awe and then celebration of the disciples like a stadium erupting in disbelief. Jesus had not disappointed His followers, He had won the decisive victory over death.
What is the virtue of fandom? Hope. For those who waited for a Messiah, Jesus delivered. He did not deliver in the way that anyone expected (just like the Steelers), but He delivered in a way that showed His great love for us, and allowed us to become true ‘fans’ of faith. In the anonymity of Jesus’ early life and the ups and downs of his ministry, Jesus allows those who do not want to be with him to leave. He weeds out the ‘fair weather fans.’ But for those who persevere to the end (even until the final two seconds), He not only rewards with joy, but gives them the unexpected and undeserved gift of eternal life.
This is where Christianity separates from the analogy of fandom. After understanding what Jesus has done for us, we are called to not only be fans, but to participate in the spiritual battle. Jesus allows us to enter into His virtue and victory, so long as we follow in His footsteps. But along the way, we must never forget that we are fans filled with hope first and foremost. And even whenever things may be at their darkest in the spiritual battle, we can be assured that Jesus has won the victory and all will work out for good in the end.
**Please note: This article is just meant to be a fun analogy. It is in no way saying that a football game is even remotely close to being as important as our salvation.