When I was 17, I heard something on a podcast I’m still thinking about today.  

How do you account for the essential meaninglessness of professional sport?  

In the time since I first heard that question, I’ve worked as a sports journalist, coached a football team, and watched more hours of men and women running about than I’d care to admit.  

Consider a football match. 

Perhaps you switched to ITV1 on Sunday afternoon and saw Newcastle and Liverpool playing in the League Cup final.  

Some of you saw 22 sweaty, extremely wealthy men tearing about a patch of grass in north London.  

But others of you witnessed an enthralling tactical contest between two excellent teams, showcasing young men who blend incredible physical traits with technical brilliance. Cheered on by thousands of dedicated fans within Wembley Stadium – that cathedral of the English game – and millions more supporters worldwide.   

Broken down to its constituent parts, a game of football is indeed just 22 individuals kicking a ball about. In the same way, The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh is blue paint thrown onto a canvas. Or Romeo and Juliet is English words arranged in an order.  

But clearly, that play and that painting are profoundly meaningful to those who see them for their beauty.  

I find meaningfulness in professional sport because I see these games for their beauty.  

In Paul’s letter to the Colossian church, he states, ‘For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him’ (Colossians 1:16). 

I thank God for football, for in him it was created.  

But here’s the kicker for the Christian – professional sport is meaningful right up to the moment it isn’t.  

In the recently released Amazon Prime documentary From Doubters to Believers, chronicling the final season of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure as Liverpool manager, the German who’s on record as claiming Jesus Christ was ‘the most important person in history’ also said, ‘You can’t play football if you aren’t ready to lose.’ 

This is a man who understands the meaning of professional sport. Ultimately, it isn’t about the winning and losing. Though it may feel like the most important thing in the world, though we might adore the game and everything around it, we need to remember by whom and in whom we have it in the first place. Jesus.

Sam Brown
Sam is a Church Advocate at LICC and writes regularly on politics and sport for Connecting with Culture.