I get excited this time of year. Early Fall air is crisp and fresh, and excitement builds in small towns and large cities across the country as the weekend approaches and young football teams prepare to take the fields. School colors streak hallways, car windows, and local businesses. It's football season!I grew up in Carlinville, IL, where life seemed to stand still on Friday nights. I didn't know a single person who wasn't at the game. We dressed head to toe in cardinal red and royal blue. Many cheered on our team until our throats hurt. Men travelled up and down the fence as the team moved on the field, compared notes on how the team would do this year, what players would get college offers, and when the best (and worst) years of CHS history were. Young boys played football behind the bleachers. College students returned to catch up on friendships while supporting those "left behind" in high school. On Monday the community was still buzzing about last Friday's game and by Tuesday most were anticipating next Friday's game.
We were usually in the state playoffs which raise the energy and involvement up a notch. If it seemed the whole town came to regular season games, the entire county must have shown up to playoff games. The town would virtually shut down for a few hours during a home game or the entire day if everyone caravaned to a far-off town.
When I was about ten years old, we made it to the state game. The day before one of the last playoff games I went home from school with strep throat. Technically, I wouldn't be allowed back to school for 24 hours, but the next day was Saturday...and a playoff game. This was serious stuff. My parents couldn't leave me home, because everyone we knew would be at the game several hours from home. So I bundled up and went along!
Tonight I went to the first game of the season in the town where I live. This town isn't quite as football crazy as Carlinville, but there's definitely a community feel to the experience. People of all ages were there. Young kids with painted faces, high school kids decked in school colors, parents with their kids' names on their shirts and many dedicated older supporters who have seen more games than the players can imagine. The crazies were yelling at refs. Young kids were playing football in the mud or cheering with the cheer squad. Parents were selling sweatshirts and refreshments. And people were sitting in the bleachers, catching up on community news.
Each person had different tasks and responsibilities all day...but by this evening, all of us came together for a football game. We became a crowd with a common focus.
The next time you're in a crowd, ask yourself what the common focus is.
Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him. - Mark 3:7-8 (NLT)
