Readers Talk LDS Sports: “Why Should I Care?”
By Kelly L. Martinez
On April 28, Meridian Magazine ran an article
asking the question, ‘Why do we care so much about high-profile
LDS?’ Sports columnist Kelly Martinez reports on the various
responses that flooded his e-mail box in the days following that
column.
To say that I
have been rejuvenated in my endeavors to provide Meridian readers
with stories on LDS athletes would be a true statement attributed
to Meridian readers’ responses to my article “Why Should I Care?” Several
viewpoints were offered but only one consensus: keep bringing
us stories about LDS athletes and celebrities.
I appreciate the
feedback and intend to use it as a guide for future articles on
the LDS sporting community. Stay tuned and, in the meantime,
read on:
Church’s adolescence
There are probably several reasons for our
attachment to Mormon celebrity ...
One might be our adolescence as a church.
We are still relatively young, and like teenagers we have a certain
bravado that disguises to a degree our youthful insecurities.
We need external validation, and Mormons successful in the public
eye provide that validation. Successful Mormons reflect well
on the church, which reflects well on us individually.
Another could be that they are indeed role
models for us. They are a clear example to us of being successful
in the world without giving in to the world.
And there's also just the fact of emotional
proximity. The closer someone is connected to us, the more what
they do affects us. And nothing except for perhaps family relationship
connects us more closely than our shared faith.
So when someone of our faith does something
remarkably poorly or remarkably well, it affects us, even if they
live far away.
Rick Walton
----------
Examples needed
As a non-member with my wife and four grown
children LDS, and me a "born again” Christian ... I
enjoyed your article.
Perhaps the fascination is somewhat like
the well known evangelical "born again" Christian athletes
who are vocal about their faith and who have shared that
faith at Billy Graham crusades for at least thirty years.
Their impact on young people to encourage them to bring Jesus
into their lives cannot be denied. Programs such a Fellowship
of Christian Athletes is often led at the local and regional levels
by former star athletes.
The fascination with LDS star athletes/celebrities
by church members is because overall there are very few (of them)
and those who live the LDS faith provide a much needed model similar
to the FCA.
Frank McLeskey
Fairfax Station, Virginia
----------
Higher
standard
We cheer for the ones who are honorable in their respect of
their priesthood and their religion while trying to be successful
in the world. I think we hold them to a higher standard, but
we also invest our emotions in their successes and failures.
I personally hope for every good successful thing for them in
the sport of their choice. But sometimes the Lord has other plans.
Janie Moysh
----------
We know them
People are often interested in the lives
of famous people, what they've been through, where they've come
from and the like. I think in the LDS faith, our religion
is so much a part of who we are, that having that common link
gives us an almost automatic link to that famous person.
We KNOW what is important to them because it is also important
to us. It is always more fun to cheer for people when we
know them, so in a very fundamental way, knowing they are LDS
means we know them spiritually.
Michelle Eyring
Mesa, Arizona
----------
They’re missionaries
Part of the caring is natural for all LDS.
Most of it is, I think, missionary zeal. High profile Saints,
if they let on that they are LDS, give the Church publicity that
it wouldn't otherwise have.
Margaret Aurand
----------
In but not of the world
As a convert to the Church, I have always
tried to be aware of my faith, to be conscious of what I
believe, and why. I can't make a huge difference in this world,
as I have little or no clout outside of my own family and ward.
But I watch with interest the more visible members, to see how
they manage being in the world, but not of it.
How does an LDS football or baseball player
manage to keep the Sabbath holy? How do LDS businesspeople deal
with the cutthroat ways of their competitors? How can an LDS
politician remain true to his/her covenants in a place as worldly
as Washington, or any State capital? These very visible members serve as
examples to me, and I suppose to others, of how to negotiate the
turbulent waters of our 21st century life and (hopefully) come
out on top spiritually. What I try to do on a small stage
is played out for all to see by these Saints.
Sometimes, the only Mormon a person consciously
sees is a sports figure, or businessman who is identified as such
by the media. Keep telling their stories, keep giving them positive
press, talk to them about their lives,
their faith, (and) their aspirations. Keep letting us know how
they do it, and why. I, for one, need to hear
it.
Rita Miller
Ann Arbor, Michigan
----------
Two
reasons
I think there are at least two reasons we are interested in
LDS athletes and other celebrities: (1) we want to identify with
their success and see it as increasing the possibility of such
success for us or other LDS, such as our children; and (2) we
know that prominent Mormons can greatly affect how the Church
and the rest of its members are perceived, not only by the general
public, but especially by opinion leaders and government officials
who can affect the ability of the Church to accomplish its goals.
While
there can be an excess of pride and hero worship involved in following
the lives and deeds of LDS celebrities, not to mention the grasping
at straws of rumored Mormonism that are not true, I think that
these two main reasons for interest in the lives of famous Mormons
are positive.
Raymond Takashi Swenson
Idaho Falls,
Idaho
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