It only took us thirty-one years. But tonight, we finally made it!
We saw our first college basketball game LIVE! Our favorite team, The University of Virginia, played the University of Miami. In Miami. Talk about home court advantage!
There’s something about being at a live game, Lord. I am not exactly a “rabid” basketball fan. Or even a mildly infected one. 🙂 But being there live was something else altogether.
I could actually feel the fans’ energy igniting the players. The momentum shifts were palpable.
As UVA fans, we were (of course) in the minority… by a long shot. I counted about ten people who were wearing UVA garb. Maybe some others were there “undercover.” Perhaps out of a desire to leave the athletic center alive? 🙂
The roar of the crowd was deafening.
We had arrived one hour early. I got to see the entire “drama” from beginning to end.
The warm ups of the cheerleaders. The dance troupe with their short skirts and pom poms. The arrival of the visiting team, then the Home Team. The stretching. The choreographed drills. The practice shots.
Then came the band. The life-sized mascot. The color guard, followed by the National Anthem. The refs huddling. The game beginning amidst much “pomp and circumstance.”
I had a great time, Lord… I really did! There were only a few moments that gave me pause… Like whenever we dared to cheer for Virginia. 🙂 And whenever Virginia came close to winning.
The “looks” came from near and far. Clearly we were out of place. How had we gained access? Were we delusional? Could we really have thought we would be welcome there?
Fortunately, the final outcome of the game brought out the crowd’s generosity. Our team lost. So we were no longer any threat. 🙂
I laugh… but part of me could understand how quickly a “tide” could shift in a crowd. Where those who would go “against the flow” could get swallowed up by the waves.
Part of me could even empathize with the Christians in those long-ago coliseums. They, too, were in the minority back then.
Of course, back then, cheering for your “underdog” team could end up making you part of the day’s entertainment. One of countless “dime-a-dozen” headliners whose Opening Nights inevitably became their Final Performances.
Yes, sometimes the roar of the crowd is deafening. But when in the minority, The Answer can’t really be to shout louder… can it, Lord? Sometimes it is the most unexpected outcome — the “win” nobody sees coming — that silences the crowd.
“God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15)
How deafening was the crowd that cheered against You, Lord?
So grateful my voice finally switched sides,
Abba’s Girl