Religion and Sports

Religion plays an enormous role in professional sports throughout the world today; most notably football players in the NFL are the most public and open about their faith. In a recent MSNBC segment they discuss up how football players publicly display their faith on the field by praying on the field after a game or by end zone blessings and if it is a problem. The video starts with a clip of Terrell Owens telling the media that he is going to play in the super bowl despite an injured leg and against doctors advice, Owens replied “I got the best doctor of all, and that’s god” when asked who cleared him to play. They then interviewed Kurt Warner who is a popular NFL quarterback and one of the most religious athletes in America today. Kurt explained that being religious on the field is no different than when he is religious at home with his wife and kids, it is just a part of who he is and doesn’t feel like there should be any regulation over religious celebrations.

                After watching this video clip I also wondered if athletes like Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner would be as religious as they are now if they were not as gifted at sports as they are. I do not know much about how they were raised by their parents or the area in which they grew up. I do know many people who were raised to be extremely religious and lived in a religious community who grew up to be ordinary people who do not live very religious lives. It’s almost like the opposite of Michael Brooks’ article Born Believers; in the article he says how people create god when they are in fear. In this situation these athletes are creating god for being so successful.

 Video

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=3af8575b-c30f-4b8e-a1cd-adc0f76f50ee   

Works Cited

Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God."New Scientist. February 4, 2009.

 Reagan, Ron, and Monica Crowley. Religion and Sports. MSNBC. 4 Feb. 2005

Adam Carolla vs. Religion

In this radio clip Adam Carolla discusses how he believes religion is foolish and stupid. He continues to argue and gives his reasoning; first he says how he does not agree with all of the religious requirements that people have to follow, he gives the example of Muslims who have to dress in robes and pray five times a day. Adam goes on to give more examples of how religion is foolish and wrong; however he then talks about how sports can be like religion which I would have to agree with. Many Americans today worship and idolize sports teams and athletes. Many religious people have crucifixes, mezuzah, etc in their home while many people who worship sports team will have team colors, posters, and so on. In a religion many people who all believe in the same beliefs come together and practice those beliefs, in sports people come together to watch their team play whether it be at a bar, a friend’s house or the actual stadium. Over the course of history countless people have died fighting for their religion. If you have ever been to a Red Sox Yankees game you would know that just like religion fights and battles between the two sides occur and tragically people are seriously injured and killed. Adam Carolla also talks about how religion can be passed down through family, just like sports teams. Growing up my family was die hard Red Sox fans and practiced Judaism and because of them I now consider myself a diehard Red Sox fan and a Jew. While Sports teams cannot answer the question to god but they do give many people a sense of hope and can bring communities together.  

Carolla, Adam. "Adam Carolla." Adam Carolla with Teresa Strasser. KLSX. Los Angeles. 5 Mar. 2008.

Golf and God

Golf has been an enormous part of my life; it has helped make me the person who I am today. Over the years I have learned many life lessons and other valuable pieces of information while on the course. Growing up my parents raised me to be Jewish; we went to temple twice a week until I was a junior in high school and had a bar mitzvah. My parents really pushed religion on both my brother and I, if we did anything wrong my mom would say it’s because we’re not religious enough. Events like these pushed me away from religion and my belief in god, until I step on the golf course.

            Many golfers pray to a higher being or the “golf gods” for wisdom and guidance on the course. The majority like myself is not super religious off the course, but there’s something about the game of golf that drives people crazy enough to pray and worship the gods. In the Michael Brooks article Born Believers: How your brain creates god, he discusses why people believe in god. After looking at his article I thought of myself on the golf course and thought about why certain events take place. I can remember countless times where I have hit perfect shots but something out of the ordinary will occur like a ball ending up hitting a shovel that was left behind or having an animal come move a ball or even just how the wind will pick up whiel my ball is in  the air. 

            Over the years the connection between golf and religion has been made and many people have commented over the situation:

"The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course." - Billy Graham (Guru)

"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, and some on the golf course." - Adlai Stevenson (Guru)

"If you're caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightening, hold up a one iron. Not even God can hit a one-iron." - Lee Trevino (Guru)

"If I'm on the golf course and lightening starts, I get inside fast. If God wants to play through, I let him." - Bob Hope (Guru)

"I never pray to God to make a putt. I pray to God to help me react good if I miss a putt." - Chi Chi Rodriguez (Guru)

"If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using an 'outside agency' and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf." - Henry Longhurst(Guru)

Works Cited:

Guru, The Golf. "Golf and Religion: Quotes on God and Golf." HubPages. 14 Apr. 2009 .

Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God."New Scientist. February 4, 2009.

first blog post

Growing up my parents were very religious, they raised my brother and I Jewish and made us go to hebrew school twice a week plus Sunday services. I had a bar mitzvah in 6^th grade and continued to go to Hebrew school until my junior year in high school. Since I grew up with religion constantly in my life I still do follow the Jewish religion today. Religion is not the most important thing in my life but does play a role in who, I am as a person. I am interested to learn about other religions besides Judaism and finding similarities and differences between other religions.