I moved to Sioux City, Iowa in December of 1988. When football season came in 1989, I discovered I was a square peg in a round hole. Everyone I hung around with loved the NFL. I ate countless lunches that Fall in total silence because I had no idea what was going on in the NFL. Finally, I decided to start following this sport so I would know what everyone was talking about. It's tough to follow a sport without any team loyalties, so I started the process of picking a team.
You would think I would have selected the Chiefs to start with, but that wasn't the case. I had a specific set of criteria I used to select my team. First, I wanted to follow a team that no one else I knew followed - that way I could argue with everyone! Second, I wanted to follow a team in the Midwest so I could watch them on TV and maybe in person. Third, they needed to have some moral values. Armed with this information, I settled on... the Cincinnati Bengals!
I know what you are thinking - you can understand how they filled the first two criteria, but what about the third? Sam Wyche was the coach of the Bengals that year and he did a couple of things that caught my attention. He refused to allow female reporters into the locker room - which made sense to me. The league disagreed with him, though, and made him scratch that rule. The second action by Coach Wyche was a classic!
The Bengals were playing against Cleveland at home. The officials made a call that the rowdy home crowd did not appreciate. They began booing loudly and throwing things onto the field. The officials asked Coach Wyche to tell the crowd to stop throwing things on the field. He took the microphone on the sidelines and stepped out onto the field. He pleaded with the crowd to stop throwing things on the field, because "you live in Cincinnati, not Cleveland!" I loved it (there is a major rivalry between those two teams) - but the officials didn't and gave him a "sportsmanship" penalty.
The day I decided to be a Bengals fan, I went home from work, putzed around a bit, and flipped on the TV. There was a football game on and the Bengals were on! I sat down and began rooting for my beloved Bengals when the Mrs. walked into the room. She saw me watching the game and questioned what I was doing. She noted that I didn't like pro football and I replied, "I love pro football, and the Bengals are my favorite team." She asked me, "Since when?" - to which I replied, "Since this afternoon!" She rolled her eyes and walked away.
As an FYI, after the Bengals served as the NFL's doormat for many long and depressing years. I finally gave up on them and switched to the Chiefs. I have no plans to switch again, no matter how bad they are playing.
Choosing a football team is not a major choice for most of us. And, if we get disappointed in the team we choose, we can switch loyalties without offending too many people. However, choosing to follow Jesus Christ is a major decision that we should never vacillate on. God audibly affirmed Jesus when He said, "This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." God gave us the gift of His Son so that we might have eternal life. 1 John 5:11-12 clearly says, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." To refuse to accept the gift of Jesus is to choose everlasting death over eternal life. Is that really what we want to do? Let's become great fans of Jesus, accept the gift of salvation He offers us, and the promise of eternal life is ours!
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