Who is the MVP of sports? The most valuable player? Aka the most Important player? Aka, the Goat of all sports? Is It Ali, Brady, Jordan, Pele or Ruth? Names from the past. Or is it someone in the present? Fury, Mahomes, James, Messi or Trout. Lets not forget tennis. Is it Bjorn Borg or Novak Djokavich? Martina Navratolova, or Serena Williams. How about golf. Bobby Jones or Tiger Woods. There is swimming, there is Cricket. There is track and field. There is automobile racing. The list is endless and the names are endless. But the answer is not. The answer is an easy and simple one. The most important person in sports is YOU.
Jack Dempsey once said “A champion owes everybody something. He can never pay back for all the help he got, for making him an idol”. YOU the fan is the one who makes it all happen. Ypi have the power. No one from any sport is paying you a dime. In fact, you, the fan, is the one who pays the freight for everybody and everything. The players salaries , the owners profits and all the middlemen in between. The fan pays for shirts, socks and souvenirs with a team logo on it. They pay for the autographed basketballs, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls. You, the fan, make everything happen will your desire and will. From sports magazines to sports movies. From tailgates to watch parties. Think about it. You are the gas that fuels all the engines of every sport. YOU are more important than any player or team
Now I am not trying to separate you from your affiliation with a player, sport or team. I am not trying to give you reasons to resent players, teams or sports in general. I am trying to put into perspective the importance of you and the importance of you looking out for you. To love yourself as much as anything else. To consider what you are putting into your life for your happiness and longevity. You see, I believe what we like about sports is seeing an obstacle overcome. A person coming from a seemingly insurmountable circumstance to rise to a position of prominence. A player facing certain defeat to battle back against the odds and his opponent to win. A team that no one gave a chance to succeed. To see them come together and blend their talents to win the ultimate prize. We watch sports to see the indomitable will of an individual or team adapt and evolve to overcome that which faces them. To be or not to be. That is the question
But that question also lies in wait for you. The fan. Sports are but a metaphor for life. If the overcoming of obstacles can be done in sports. It can be done in your own life. Do not let sports consume you to the point where you have no life but that sport. The quality of your life will suffer. Do not let sports bring out the worst in you. Allow it to bring out the best in you. Let sports motivate you to face the issues within your own life and to overcome them. It could be alcohol, drugs, medical, relationship or spiritual. Whatever the problems. They are there for you to overcome. There is victory in overcoming. Athletes train to overcome the obstacles in their sport. You will have to train yourself to overcome your obstacles. If they can do it. You can do it. You are a Child of God. You are wonderfully made, dearly loved, and precious in His sight. Before God made you, He knew you. There is no one else like you.