Sports fans too intense

A few members of the community have found the intensity and emotional outpouring at some of Redeemer’s sporting events to be in conflict with the loving, tender, and respectful lifestyle we are called to as Christians. A strong example of this was at the final men’s varsity volleyball game of last year. During the course of the game, the crowd exhibited its regular game rituals of chants, drums, signs, applauding, and rushing the court. There was also a slight altercation between our fans and those that had made the trip to cheer on Loyalist, but it was resolved quickly.

Were Redeemer students and sports fans exhibiting Christian behavior that night in the gymnasium? Are such actions as jeering players who make a mistake, or chanting a server’s number, Christian? The argument can be made that the pressure of the crowd on a player is all part of the game, but at the same time, these are not professional athletes, and the Redeemer community should not model the behaviour of some of the fans that fill up a typical sports arena.

There is something special about Redeemer’s sports fans and teams. They represent the only Christian School in the OCAA and this presents additional responsibility to our fans and players. In the heat of the moment, when tension is running high, we are called to exhibit proper Christian behavior and to serve as a witness to others. I think there is room for drums, chants, and signs. There may not be clear-cut guide for our behaviors, but we do have the responsibility to consider our actions. We can be the loudest fans in the world as we cheer for our teams, but we need to carefully consider our actions as fans as well as witnesses to Christ.

I am writing this as a Redeemer varsity athlete and as a sports fan who knows that sometimes the emotion and pressure can get to us. There may be times when we do things during the course of a game that we regret. We damage our personal reputation, as well as the school’s, when we allow ourselves to falter in front of our peers and community. It is hard to fix the mistakes we make, and so I ask that, as we go through the rest of this year and years to come, cheering on others or participating ourselves, we take the time to consider our actions. We have been given a rare opportunity to be a shining light, let’s not do anything that would darken it.

The Crown reserves the right to edit or remove any comment that:

• is libelous, threatening, obscene, or constitutes hate speech
• directly and deliberately insults other posters
• is promotional or commercial in nature