I live in a tiny town in West TX and I am appalled by the pressure put on boys to play football.
Our high school team is so bad that we broke another team’s 12 year loosing streak! But despite their poor performance the school employs 12 coaches for football and refuse to even let a volunteer coach a soccer team (even though the town is more than 3/4 Mexican!) Soccer would take some focus and players from the Almighty Game of Football.
I have a boy at my church who has had hip surgery on both hips, torn his ACL, has numerous related problems, and he’s only 16. He plays for the high school team (which rarely wins) and if you ask him what his goals are after high school, he’ll tell you…
Play Pro Football
He has no back up plans, doesn’t see the point in getting good grades, and his parents SUPPORT it all! They actually let him think he will play pro! It’s downright tragic.
If you are a boy in this town and you can’t or don’t play football, you are nothing. My son is barely a year old and it makes me want to move, just to protect him from this dangerous and fanatical “football is life” mentality.
I wonder how many churches die while clinging to their buildings and desperately struggling to keep them? Have we confused church buildings with Tabernacles? I guess we tell children to “Tip toe, tip toe in God’s House…” But he doesn’t really live in the building, he lives in us.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
I live in a tiny town in West TX and I am appalled by the pressure put on boys to play football.
Our high school team is so bad that we broke another team’s 12 year loosing streak! But despite their poor performance the school employs 12 coaches for football and refuse to even let a volunteer coach a soccer team (even though the town is more than 3/4 Mexican!) Soccer would take some focus and players from the Almighty Game of Football.
I have a boy at my church who has had hip surgery on both hips, torn his ACL, has numerous related problems, and he’s only 16. He plays for the high school team (which rarely wins) and if you ask him what his goals are after high school, he’ll tell you…
Play Pro Football
He has no back up plans, doesn’t see the point in getting good grades, and his parents SUPPORT it all! They actually let him think he will play pro! It’s downright tragic.
If you are a boy in this town and you can’t or don’t play football, you are nothing. My son is barely a year old and it makes me want to move, just to protect him from this dangerous and fanatical “football is life” mentality.
Interesting article in Christianity Today!
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/001/1.49.html
Thanks for your work!
Jeremy Gregg
Director of Development
Central Dallas Ministries
Great article Wade!
I wonder how many churches die while clinging to their buildings and desperately struggling to keep them? Have we confused church buildings with Tabernacles? I guess we tell children to “Tip toe, tip toe in God’s House…” But he doesn’t really live in the building, he lives in us.