Loving Football: Commitment and Faithfulness
Publication Date
11-16-2004
Publication
The Christian Century
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Gilman High School in Baltimore asks his players, “What is our job?” The players yell back, “To love us!” The coach shouts, “And what is your job?” “To love each other!” the boys respond.
In the book Season of Life, this standard exchange is as much a part of Gilman football as running or tackling. Yet author Jeffrey Marx realizes that it’s not standard conversation for coaches and players. “If a Martian had just happened on Earth and somehow found himself witnessing only that introductory talk, a perfectly logical communiqué home might have included a summary such as this: ‘Learned about some sort of group gathering called football. It teaches boys to love.’”
What is going on here? Is this a work of cheap fiction that can appeal only to the most sentimental of readers? No, it is a true story. Is it a romanticized account of some hapless “Bad News Bears” ne’er-do-wells? No, the Gilman football team is known up and down the East Coast as a powerhouse. And defensive coach Joe Ehrmann is the former Baltimore Colts defensive lineman, who had a stellar 13-year career in pro football.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Gregory, "Loving Football: Commitment and Faithfulness" (2004). Public Intellectual Writing. 115.
https://repository.belmont.edu/gregoryjones_public/115
