It’s actually happening.
Slowly, but surely.
People in our country are watching the
World Cup. Maybe not in huge numbers,
but more people watched the first U. S. match than watched the final game of
the Stanley Cup and almost as many as watched the last game of the NBA
championships.
Futball (or soccer as we term it) is
the most popular game in the world. It’s
always flown below the radar in the United States, in spite of the fact that
most current young adults played soccer while growing up. Still, football, baseball, basketball and
hockey have always been the big four and most attention has drifted toward
those big money sports.
Why has futball (soccer) not caught on
in the U. S. like it has in the rest of the world? It’s fairly inexpensive to play—a ball and a
goal comprise the necessary equipment, and maybe uniforms.
Has it not caught on because it’s not
action oriented enough? Scoring is often
low (0-0 ties are not uncommon) and we associate scoring with action. (Defense never quite gets as much respect as
offense.) For the last 30-40 years it
seems to me that our culture has over-emphasized the importance of action. Movies that are action oriented tend to be
far more popular than quiet stories that make you think; and while some
children choose reading over video games, my guess is that the latter get far
more attention than the former. (When I
watch the screen of video games—not very often admittedly—I have no idea what’s
happening. Too much movement for me to
follow!)
It seems to me that many sports
enthusiasts judge futball (soccer) to be “boring”, precisely because it lacks
compelling (exciting) action.
Apparently somehow our culture has
taught us that we need excitement, and we buy into the notion that lots of
action provides such excitement, fulfilling a “need” we have. (It’s actually a want, not a need.) I’m not sure why excitement is so appealing
to humans. Is it that excitement makes
us feel good, at least momentarily?
(Everyone likes to feel good.)
A couple of weeks ago, there was a
Holy Hour in honor of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of
Christ. We did something I had never done
before: we processed with the Blessed Sacrament outside, circling the
church. There isn’t a lot of action or
excitement in processing, but as cars went by and people watched us process, I
had this unexpected surge of pride in our Catholic belief in the Real
Presence. For me, there was a sense of
“quiet excitement” about that. It was
better than scoring a goal at the World Cup!
(At least for me)
I write this two weeks before the
bulletin comes out, so I have no idea how the U. S. will fare in the World Cup,
but I do know that the world watches in great numbers no matter who makes it to
the end. (Fewer Americans watch if the
U. S isn’t involved.) If a couple of
billion people are transfixed by a “boring” sport, maybe we need to review what
we value. (While our relationship with
God does require some action on our part—loving our neighbor requires some
involvement—it also requires an appreciation of the quiet in life.) It’s not always easy to detect God’s presence
when we keep searching for what our culture tells us we need in terms of
excitement.
What we might term “boring” might actually
be what we need most in our lives. Being
reflectively quiet is more likely to connect us with God than is all the
excitement in the world. And that
connection is what leads us to fulfillment.
Have a blessed . . . and fulfilling .
. . week!
No comments:
Post a Comment