Sports as religion do fans take it to far

A lot of sport fans really take a being a fan to a whole new level. We can't begin to tell you how many times we have walked into someones home and see team paraphernalia everywhere. People today live or die for the teams. Living in "Steeler Country," has shown me how much this is really true. Ryan and myself have seen many tattoos that say "sixburgh," or tattoos for every Super Bowl won. Fans today make sport their religion, they like to wear a jersey on a certain day, or a color for a certain event. Fans and athletes really live or die for their team/sport.

Coakley explains several similarities and differences between religion and sports.
Similarities

• Sports and Religion both have places for gatherings. ex: churches and stadiums
• Perfection in body, mind, and spirit
• Hierarchical systems of authority and structured organizations
• Rituals before, during, and after major events
• Heroes and Legends about heroic accomplishments
• Give meaning to people's lives

Differences

• Religious beliefs, meanings, rituals, and events are mystical and sacred.  Sports are fundamentally clear-cut and secular
• Religion pertains to the pursuit of eternal life.  Sport seeks victory through physical performance.
• Religion involves faith in one's beliefs.  Sport involves competition to establish superiority.
• Religion emphasizes humility and love.  Sport emphasizes personal achievement and conquest.
• Religion acknowledges the sacred and supernatural.  Sport highlight a collective commitment to here and now.(Coakley, 2009)

We believe in some cases athletes absolutely take their actions too far, but we do believe that sport and religion can and should co-exist.  Fans and athletes should be dedicated to their sports team as well as their personal spiritual beliefs, but they should not take sports as a life or death situation and become hostile and violent.  We believe college athletes such as Tim Tebow and Ryan's ex-quarterback at Edinboro University, Trevor Harris, set great examples as student-athletes and apostles of Jesus Christ.  Athletes of all religions should be accepted and not ridiculed nor criticized and should be giving the opportunity to put their spiritual duties before sports activities.