It was a memorable event which I will never forget, the evening my dad took me to a football match when I was a young girl.
Not because I have had a love of football ever since, it was probably the first and last match I have been to, but because that night there was a thick fog over the grounds at Aldershot, so thick, that the players could barely see one another let alone the other end of the pitch. On the terraces the footballs were shadowy figures that moved through a white haze and we only knew what was going on from a Mexican wave of yelling round the stadium. It was indeed a memorable event. I am sure that you yourself can recall sporting moments which are imprinted in your mind, both great and horrendous.
There is something of real pleasure being a spectator at such sporting events which is not restricted to actually being there. The Pimms and strawberries taste just as good in front of your television as they do at Wimbledon, and cost a loss less, and I guess that half the fun of supporting England in the World Cup is to share the agonies and triumphs with others on the sofa or down the pub as much as travelling to South Africa. Whether you are lucky enough or not to go to be at the events live, sport still gives to everyone who watches it not only an excitement but also a wonder at the athleticism and skill of the sportsman. I may barely have played tennis but that does not preclude me marvelling from the way Roger Federer is able to beautifully place a ball at top speed into the corner of the court at precisely the place he wanted it. I may not be a football fan but when I see the footwork and ball control of some footballers it is a marvel to behold. Surely all of us know how to run but you cannot but be in awe of the likes of Paula Radcliffe when she shows us what it means to really run. Saying that, some of the most enjoyable sporting events to watch are those which literally anyone and everyone are involved in. We might be stunned by the speed in which Olympic athletes finish the London marathon but there is delight at watching folk from all walks of life and in ever varied costumes hobbling in many hours later. Anyone with a bike can have a go at the London to Brighton cycle ride where the idea of a race is lost amongst the masses of cyclists as they struggle up to Ditchling Beacon.
It is a cliché but the importance of taking part rather than winning is always brought home to me when I watch the Nursery school’s sports day. At first I, as a typical middle class parent, was rather disappointed that there were no winners to the running race but that everyone was given a toy medal, another symptom of political correctness, I thought. But to the 3 and 4 year olds who took part, there was no concept of what it meant to win or lose, all that mattered was they ran and that everyone did indeed receive their prize. It is in this childlike approach that Paul describes the Christian life as a race. We are indeed invited to all take part, it is not a spectator sport reserved for spiritual athletes at whom we simply marvel, instead it is for us all and to all who take part there is indeed a prize, not simple a crown of laurels but of eternal life.
Emma
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