I don't wish to disparage anyone's faith...in their god...or their football team. In either case, that would amount to sacriledge! But if we could, for a moment, try to see how both types of loyalty have so much in common, a bit of sanity could result.
Today, and for centuries, religious fervor has resulted in the pain, suffering and death of millions of people. This is a fact. At the risk of being viewed as 'elitist' I have sworn off organized religion after being raised a devout believer. I know first-hand how one can be attracted to religious inclusiveness. The problems begin, in my opinion, when a religion claims it's superiority over other religions. More pointedly, one deity's superiority over another deity. Religion quickly becomes non-inclusive in this respect.
Here's where sport comes in.
We sports fans believe in our respective teams...sometimes without more reason than the fact that we are 'homers'. We watch each clash with other teams, holding out hope that ours will vanquish them and be worshipped as 'number one'...that is, until next year, when supremacy is recast in doubt and fear once again. No death...no suffering (save an ankle or two)...and most importantly, we all know the claims of supremacy is fleeting and totally unrelated to the realities of life...the daily struggle to feed and clothe our families while communing with other humans in a civilized manner.
Let's give each religion a yearly shot at the trophy and let civilization lighten it's load. We have so many more important things to worry about.
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