Saturday, January 28, 2012

A separation of church and sport???

Okay, I know I have been MIA forever, but I was crazy busy and blogging is the first thing to go. I was planning two events and therefore I was forced to take a break.  I tried to keep up with everything but frankly my house was starting to look like an episode of Hoarders and I'm pretty sure my children were becoming feral.  I had to step up to the "stay at home mom" plate and take one for the team....or we were all going to have to start re-wearing underwear and nobody wins in that situation.  Nobody.

I was, however, compelled to come back and blog today for a few reasons.  1)  I really miss it!  I miss this great running community and the enjoyment and encouragement I have received from it!  2) One event is over and I have a tiny bit more time.  3)  I am all fired up over something I read this morning and frankly I have a few things to get off my chest.  I don't think everyone will agree with me, and that is fine, but these are my thoughts on the matter and please feel free to disagree and tell me I'm an idiot.  This is America after all, and it is our right to call people idiots.  Frankly, it is one of my favorite civil liberties.

The article that riled me up was by Diana Nyad.  In case you've never heard of her, she is a pretty amazing athlete.  Nyad is a world class distance swimmer who just recently attempted a swim from Cuba to Florida....oh and she was 62 at the time!  Unfortunately, she did not complete the journey through shark infested waters due to getting stung repeatedly by jelly fish.  Yeah, she is a total bad ass!  But the article she wrote actually had nothing to do with that swim or swimming, it had to do with football...and religion....and yeah you guessed it, Tim Tebow.

Nyad's article suggested that it was inappropriate for Tebow to express his religious beliefs while wearing a Broncos uniform,that there should be, what she called, a separation of church and sport.  Huh, are you kidding me?  She even said that he should make it a "private expression" and "take it to the locker room."  Basically, she doesn't have a problem with his faith as long as he is hiding it.  And in my opinion that is a really scary attitude.

Now I am a Broncos fan and a Christian so my views on this might be ever so slightly biased, but I'd like to think I'd be equally offended if it was any team (even the Patriots...or Raiders) and any religion.  Look, I don't agree with Scientology but I fully believe that Tom Cruise has a right to talk about it all he wants.  I don't believe in Karma or reincarnation but I would never have the gall to call it unacceptable to openly share your beliefs about it.  This is America and religious freedom for ALL is something I strongly believe in, and suggesting we should limit those freedoms in any way is a dangerous path to walk down. You don't have to like or believe what Tebow says, but you need to acknowledge the fact that he has every right to do it.  To tell someone they can only practice their religion in privacy is not religious freedom in my opinion.

I don't usually talk about controversial issues, but today I felt like I had to speak my mind.  Diana had her opinion, I had mine, and now it is your turn:

Do you think there should be a "separation of church and sport?"

Are you rooting for the Pats, the Giants, or the commercials next Sunday???