On the heels of an amazing Wimbleton final between Sweden’s Roger Federer and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic; and as World Cup competition begins to move toward a final crowning in Rio, I’m once again trying to weigh the global fascination with sport and competition.
It could be that the examples I’m looking at are of little interest to most of the world who have no access to the media, hype, or moment by moment calls on what nation, team, or person gets the recognition of being better or best on any given day.
But who can deny that, at all levels of life, the games we play say something about the universal, ongoing struggle not only for survival, but for tokens of personal betterment and glory, brief as it may be?
Is it possible that, in ways and for reasons words like this don’t begin to capture, sport touches a nerve of spirituality that is rooted in Something, and Someone who deserves the recognition of better, best, and worthy of all attention, praise, and endless comment?
If nature is a form of divine revelation, is it possible that the endless games we play also speak not only to the truth about our human nature, but of and about the truth we were made for?