My House Shall Be Called... on Superbowl Sunday?

Okay, I know I am the black sheep of the Christian Conservative family. I know that I'm a bit of a wildman and take things to extremes.  If you don't realize it yet, this post will probably put me on lists with the FBI and CIA, as well as ostracizing me from the circle of the Righteous and Popular Christians of America (a group I just made up in my head, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere).

You see, it's un-American to not be a football fan.  I am a member of several of the minority groups it's politically correct to ridicule at will: Caucasian, Male, Christian, Straight, Intellectual, Thin, and... Football-Non-Fans. I hate the sport.  I hate watching it, hearing about it, listening to the sub-linguistic blather that passes for articulate commentary on the subject.  I hate it.

But it's not just the sport. It's the insidious nature of the sport. It's the idolatry that seems to come along with it. It's the stupid arguments that come from the mouths of the cheese-whiz swilling hoards about which team is better, why, and why you're an idiot if you disagree with their opinion.  It's the very fact that the average football apologist can barely articulate a sentence of more than eight syllables while his bean-dip spittle froths at the corners of his mouth as he brands anyone who disagrees with him a moron. And the female fanatics are even worse! I have a theory that the female football nuts are, in large part, simply trying not to be ignored by the men in their lives.

All that divisive hyperbole aside, there is a very real bit of logic I'm going to drop on you. Football has become one of the biggest forms of idolatry in Western Society. I'm not just talking about the hundreds of hours of television and radio time dedicated to it or even the fact that 75.8% of American adults plan on watching the game, 79.8% of those plan on purchasing special food and drinks for the celebration, and nearly 9% of American adults plan on splurging for a new television for the occasion. I'm actually going to boil my evidence down to a single question. If you don't believe football has become a form of idolatry, follow along with the next few lines of this blog entry:

1. In Matthew 21, Jesus said "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer..."
2. We go to church to pray, study, and worship together...
3. Is your church rearranging its schedule to celebrate the Superbowl?

More evidence of the deterioration of Christianity and the degradation of biblical Christianity in the hearts and minds of those who call themselves Christ-followers.  

I said "one question." I was wrong. Ask yourself how much energy you put into convincing others that your football-related opinions are true versus how much time and energy you spend trying to convince someone to turn to Christ.