football as religion, fans as pilgrims

Joe Price has a pretty cool job. A religion professor at Whittier College in California, Price (right) writes books on the spiritual dimensions of sports (From Season to Season: Sports as American Religion and his newly-released Rounding the Bases: Baseball and Religion in America).

Don't scoff. Many Baptist preachers will tell you that some folks, especially in the South, follow their Gators, Bulldogs, Vols, etc., maybe a little too religiously.

I spoke with Price before Ryan and I began our pigskin pilgrimage. I wanted to know if Gators and Buckeyes traveling to Arizona can be considered pilgrims. I also wondered if it’s valid describe Glendale as the Mecca of college football – at least for this season.

Football taps into the American myth of conquest of territory and victories represent new beginnings, he said. High school, college and even NFL games represent cultural contests, pitting one region’s pride against another’s in a subconscious battle between good and evil. Fans wear the garb of their teams, whose colors and emblems represent tribal totems around which communities rally and identify.

Sounds religious to me.

So, yes, Price said, Gator and Buckeye fans are pilgrims this weekend because they are making a difficult journey (paying a lot of money for tickets, taking time off from work or school, enduring long lines at airports, etc.) to see their beloved teams play. And that means Glendale can be considered a Mecca of sorts, Price said.

We’ll see for ourselves tonight. Ryan and I are headed to Old Scottsdale for what is billed as THE Gator pep rally of the weekend. Some 5,000-7,000 Gator fans will descend on a bar decorated to look just like The Swamp in Gainesville, complete with the same menus and drink recipes. Look for the full story and photos in Monday’s Times-Union and online here on Jacksonville.com.

Jeff