Don't Act Like a Fan!

In November of 2003 I spoke with Andrew Wingfield Digby, for over twenty years the chaplain to the British Cricket national team, and asked him about particular attitudes a sports chaplain should be careful of and he said, “Never act like a fan.” That statement resonated with me and has become a very important part of my approach to ministry in sport.

 

Let’s pursue that a little further by thinking about the actions and attitudes of fans. Let’s go one more step and think about why those actions and attitudes are detrimental to our ministry with sportspeople. I’ll take the risk that some of us may take offense to these thoughts.

 

• Fans are only interested in results. They know what the point spread should be for the game and are critical if their team doesn’t win by enough points to cover the spread (and to cover their wagers). They give no thought to the processes which lead to the results, nor do they value them.

• Fans wear their team’s gear with their favorite player’s name on the back. They identify so strongly with that player that they wear his/her name on their backs and often sycophantically endorse every attitude, action and behavior associated with the player.

• Fans blow vuvuzelas. Enough said.

• Fans seek autographs from players. Sometimes at the most private moments of a player’s life, fans will interrupt and demand an autograph. Many high profile players seek some privacy with family and friends only to have fans barging in to get them to scribble on a cap, a scorecard, a ball, an arm or something even more personal.

• Fans want to pose for photos with players. Before, after or even during games fans will ask to pose for photos with players. They have no idea of the mental preparation, the attention to detail and the focus for competition which they’re interrupting by asking for the photo. In post-game situations that may include the processing of the pain of loss and other feelings which have the player at less than his or her best.

• Fans fantasize that they could actually play the game. Hopefully we’re close enough to the court, field or pitch to realize that most of us are not even 20% athletic enough or skilled enough to compete with those we serve. A healthy amount of humility is required to work well with competitors and coaches and to keep our attitudes in check.

• Fans criticize players’ performances. Sports talk radio, chat boards, bars and coffee shops are crowded with sports fans who are critical of their team’s players’ performances as measured against their expectations, their salaries or their profile. Worse still are those who become critical of players based on their performance as Christian athletes. They judge the players’ lifestyles, their relationships, their tattoos, their hair styles, their behavior on and off the field of competition and the amount of “religious” language they hear from the players in interviews. If they don’t perform their religious duty well enough, fans become critical and even question the validity of their faith in Christ.

 

Chaplain, Sports Mentor, Character Coach, whatever you call yourself – please don’t act like a fan! Rather, invest your life, your heart and your time in the lives of those whom you serve. Share the love of Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit with them. Rather than seeking anything for yourself, give yourself away. Rather than criticizing their performance, religious, sporting or otherwise, encourage their hearts and challenge them to be all Christ has called them to be. Value the process of development in their whole lives over the results from the most recent competition and you’ll be on the right track.