Baxter doesn’t seem to be a fan of any team in any sport. He watches some of the games with me, but with a disinterest that often gives way to full out sleep. No cheering meows, no jumping up in excitement, no bad chirps for a bad play, he just lies there wondering, I think, “What is all the fuss about?” A pinch of cat nip or, better still, a bowl of kibble, and he’s full tilt ready to do battle for the spoils. But a contest on some field of play produces little to no reaction from him. Except, of course, if I yell too loudly for some fabulous play or fouled up performance, then Baxter jumps out of his stupor, and once he realizes I am the source of the noise, turns in disgust to resume his shattered dream in peace once again. It takes a lot to be a fan; more than Baxter wants to invest.
A fan must be enthusiastic. He or she is emotionally invested in the team they support. A great game can give a lift to the whole day, and conversely, a bad game puts a damper on the rest of one’s waking hours. A fan isn’t merely “interested” in the game. The day revolves around this event. The energy builds as the anticipation mounts. That’s why there is a ritual to the pre-game activities — tailgating, bands and fight songs, team gear, meeting up with fellow fans. It all contributes to the hype and charges up the faithful.
Which leads to the second quality of a true fan, he or she is loyal. A fair weather fan is no fan at all. The test of one’s blood line for a team is how you act when the team is in a slump. While you might get upset and want to fire the coach or strangle a certain player, you don’t walk away from the team. You stay with them through thick and thin, despite frustrations and disappointments, when the statistics are negative and the record shows it, when they do stupid things that lose the game. A true fan stands by them, and starts over with all the hype for the next game. How can someone do this, especially when the slump becomes a slide that seems to have no bottom to it? They never lose hope. The next play, the next game, the next season will turn it around, and true to this hope, he or she stands by, stays with, cheers on the team.
God needs fans in our world today. It sometimes seems like He’s losing the games of life with so much of the culture of death all around us. The right to an abortion remains the law of the land, as does capital punishment in many places. The frail elderly are often seen as a burden rather than precious pieces of fine, aged humanity. The poor are blamed for their condition rather helped out of it, and world peace is often dismissed as the fantasy of the naïve rather than the only practical course for humans to thrive. God is behind all of these contests for respecting and uplifting human life, but sometimes He must wonder where all of His fans have gone. So little cheering for these causes is often heard, or if it is heard, the cheers come from fair weather fans who pick and choose when and what they will support on God’s team. We are against abortion but for capital punishment. We are concerned for the elderly, but the poor are on their own. Peace is for the radicals, but war is for the patriots. Thinking this way is like cheering for pass plays but not for runs in football, or concentrating on the pitching game but forgetting about dropped balls in the outfield. A true fan supports the team in every aspect of its play, appreciates that each position contributes to the game effort, and remembers that usually only a fully balanced squad can sustain itself all the way to a championship.
God needs enthusiastic and loyal fans in His game of saving human life in all its conditions. Fans expect the team to be in condition, play smart, and give it their all. Our Trinitarian God always does that. We have to do our part in showing that we stand by, stay with and cheer on all God’s efforts in our world. We can’t give up, for the season for this sport is all that remains of human history. The game rituals are the sacraments we celebrate to prepare and strengthen us for the contest. The championship trophy is life everlasting. So stay with God’s team and cheer on His victory over sin and death in all its contests.
Baxter, wake up!
