Issue 187 - Football & Family
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November 2018
In this holiday issue, we reflect on the rituals we celebrated Thanksgiving weekend, from family to football traditions.
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Texas Aggie tradition permeates the air and you notice, as soon as you step on A&M campus -- “Howdy!” Even the accompanying smile comes across as maroon. Former students and friends, passionate about their traditions, unified in spirit, exude their pride and respect for the school, and most importantly, the culture of Texas A&M.
Attending the A&M v. LSU game the same weekend as our family Thanksgiving dinner amplified, to me, the value and beauty of traditions. On our Thanksgiving table, as usual, would be the necessary traditional dishes: Trey Pattillo’s all-night smoked ham, JoAnn’s roasted turkey, Diane’s cornbread dressing, Shirley’s fruit salad, Bill’s fresh cranberry sauce, and my second-generation offerings of my mother’s Asparagus au Gratin recipe and my Aunt Pat’s Macaroni and Pea salad (“made with love”) as Aunt Pat would say. We met once again, as we do every year since I was a toddler, at the little yellow house on Avenue I in Robstown, the house built by hand in 1937 by my maternal grandfather. Two years later, my brother Jim was born in the back bedroom. Treasured traditions.
Considering today’s “throw-away” generation, there is a tendency to overlook tradition. True, there is a lot of value in newness borne of creativity and intellectual brilliance. Balance, we could say, is the key. Both in football and in life, rush with innovations that could save our planet, tackle our health care and crime problems, pass to open receivers sustained by hope in the future. Balance newness with traditions that have served us well: traditions that unite, that uphold revered values, that keep the story alive and worthy of being told, holiday after holiday, and football game after football game. One event, however, is not likely to become a tradition: the A&M 7 OT’s.
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We recently visited the largest house of worship in Texas. Kyle Field, the football stadium at Texas A&M University, seats 102,512.
Yes, I am being facetious, but only in part. As others have noted, while there are lots of Baptists and Catholics in Texas, the state’s largest religion may be football.
As we gathered at Kyle Field, we joined others in songs and chants. There were litanies: When the stadium announcer intoned, “And that’s another fightin’ Aggies …,” we all responded, “First down!” As in many religious services, key figures (players, referees) were dressed in special garb.
I am hardly the first to observe that sporting events are ritualized activities, with striking parallels to religious worship services. In fact, some
psychologists argue that being a sports fan and being a church member meet similar – or at least overlapping – psychological needs.
What I experienced at the game, however, was something I already knew, but often overlook. It is the way that shared rituals help build a sense of community. Sometimes we church leaders, in an attempt to make our services more accessible to newcomers, are tempted to strip away rituals, or to over-explain them.
Now, I’ll admit: As a newcomer to Kyle Field, I sometimes felt confused and out-of-place. I didn’t know the words. I didn’t know when to stand up, link my arms over my neighbors’ shoulders, and sway side to side. But I caught on. And as I began to participate in the group’s rituals – albeit halting and stumbling at first – I began to truly feel a part of the group. The strangers around me became partners, and I felt welcomed.
Never underestimate the power of ritual to help build community, whether it be the formal rituals of worship, the family rituals around the Christmas tree, or even the chants at a football stadium.
Bill
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It's called the "Game of the Year" - Here are the highlights.
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Recent Issues
Issue 177 - Mr. Rogers
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Copyright (c) 2018 Soul Windows Ministries
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Sincerely,
Bill Howden and Jan Davis
Soul Windows Ministries
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