I have a Boston Red Sox fan friend who threw his team under the bus because his team was not morally perfect and did not play with the passion he thought they should. Because his team looked bad in the first two games..he proceeded to tear my Cubs down.
I have another friend who thought baseball players made too much and it was not worth the money. He was a fan for his own enjoyment but in the end he was only a fan of himself.
Then their was a moral/spiritual acquaintance who thought he was the oracle of correct moral behavior and knew the mind of God and judged fans and sports figures as people who are irresponsible and plugged out of reality and distracting themselves out of correct behavior and the ladder as irrelevant and irreverent if their behavior did not agree with his view of correct behavior and reality.
And then of course their are Cub fans...who until last year always were pessimistic but knew logically one day that day of redemption would come. I don't know how I knew but I knew last year was it. Even in the most dire of circumstances..I just knew. That phrase just knowing is a religious experience I believe. I have heard people when they find the right person to marry..they say they just knew. It can be any circumstance...landing a big job or knowing something is wrong without recognizing the evidence immediately.
It could be the blink aspect ( Blink: The power of thinking with out thinking by Malcolm Gladwell) except of course when you have not seen anything. It is unusual to experience this and the reason I call it a religious experience is because it almost does seem like God has willed this particular outcome. Many times this does not happen...if it happened all the time then we would not learn from our choices I believe.
I as a fan observe and assess the pro and cons of each player, of the team synergy..of the managers quirks, strengths and failings. There are things that annoy me more than others, and I do see a very important component of a player or teams success as mental. I guess just like most of life is. It also has made me shake to the core to realize that I either facilitate or hinder my own success in my own personal endeavors. I have recognized that the deeper the dream..the more I fear.
Ironic that being a fan can enlighten me in this way. Its like baseball is a mirror for our spiritual war but the consequences are not as drastic. Their is no war where people die or behaviors that damage or destroy relationships.
So if you want to learn about yourself a bit more..reflect on what kind of a fan you are or how you feel about fans. In the end being a good fan and a good player in life is a gift that we can mature and grow into. And that redemption is certainly what God hopes for all of us.
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