The men’s eyes are glued to the glowing screen. Their eyes are lit up, like those of children who discovered a new television show. Drunkenness has set in, as the men have succumbed to the Budweiser ads. They watch and are attracted to women dancing around in wonderful skimpy outfits. During this time period, the men shut their “family brain” off and switch on their “football brain.” Family relationships worsen once they turn on the “football brain.” The men watch other men disintegrate their brain and they cheer them on for it. Sin on Sunday. Ironic. Unholy. The Devil, wearing his demon jersey, is prowling around them and their minds are too drunk to notice.

“Drunkenness has set in.” Football is all about getting drunk with your buddies, while watching the game. Apparently, this makes the experience much better. Some Christ following, football addicts, are guilty of this. The atmosphere of football supernaturally overpowers the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, Peter warns us to “Be alert and of sober mind, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The brain is made up of more than 100 billion neurons which make many connections. Alcohol can damage or even kill neurons that make these connections. This can cause altered speech, slow reaction time, dulled hearing, impaired vision, weakened muscles and even foggy memory. On average, two out of a total of 12 commercials in a single football game advertise the potion that brings humans further away from God. In Psalms, it says God “wonderfully made” us. By excessively drinking alcohol, we are destroying God’s glorious creation, allowing the Devil to penetrate through the “Godless Holes” in our souls. Buy water. Be of a sober mind. Drinks and football causes the devil to smile.

“Women dancing around in wonderful skimpy outfits.” The eye catching cheerleaders on the field and the makeup-drowned women in the advertisements all lead to one thing. Lust. In 1 Corinthians 6:13, it says, “Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord. You cannot tell me that when a “hot mamacita” from a car advertisement projects on your big screen, in high definition, you are not thinking about thinking about the three B’s (Boobs, Bottom and Bed). The Oakland Raiders, in 2014, were filed for objectifying women. In the past, the men would tell the cheerleaders to wear bikinis and to dunk themselves into a body of water. After, they would then be “auctioned.” The “bidder” who placed the highest bid, would then make the cheerleader sit on his lap and drive a golf cart. If that is not objectification, then I guess I will have to purchase a new dictionary or migrate to another universe. Think about that the next time you start to think about the three B’s while watching another football game. Stop lusting and start respecting. Get a pin to burst the tires of your golf cart. The Devil will be waiting at the pit stop.

“Family brain off. Football brain on.” Men nowadays are too focused on forgettable football memories rather than making unforgettable ones with their families. Divorce rates are rising and the mere act of watching football gives the divorce rate a chance to boost up even more. Men are watching a sport that now has a 78 percent to 80 percent likeliness of divorce. This means that out of the 200 million people that watch football and are married, they can say “adios” to their happy families. That’s sad. If the divorced couple had children, the children would have a 73 percent of being negatively affected by the divorce. Some of the children would suffer from emotional pain, learning problems, insecurities, anger issues and lack of social skills. Wow, who knew that football could come alive to obliterate the present and future life of our families. Matthew 19:6 says, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Simple sounding. Hard application. Turn off your television.

“Disintegrate their brains.” Football damages your powerhouse. Don’t believe me? Go and ask the 4,500 former football players that are affected by chronic traumatic encephalopathy. You could also dig up the graves and ask some of the 101 deceased former football players that passed away in 2014 with CTE . CTE can cause memory loss, confusion, anger and depression which can then lead to suicide. Jovan Belcher, age 25, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009, died in 2012. Before committing suicide, Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend in front of her mother at their home. Paul Oliver, age 29, a safety who played for the Chargers in 2007 and again in 2011, shot and killed himself in his home in 2013. Football players are not honoring God with their body and football fans are encouraging them to continue their dishonor. Football fans should all be sent to jail for cheering on the slow death of other men. In the bible, a question is proposed to all of us asking, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” Do the football players know their bodies are temples that they must care for to honor God? Do the fans know that they should start being accountable for their beloved team? They all need to know. Be cautious and take care. The Devil loves to manipulate a malfunctioning brain.

“Get drunk.” “Lust after girls.” “Forget about your family.” “Damage your brain.” Even if you paired up with Sherlock Holmes to find evidence of Jesus saying any of these in the Bible, you would sadly be out of luck. If the Devil had his own book of his teachings, I guarantee these sayings would be found in that book. Football is the Devil’s sport.

Joshua Azan

Chattanooga

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Wow, I bet you are a hit at parties.

Chad Danner

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Actually sir, my 12-year-old made me and his mom and brothers do this thing called ESPN Fantasy Football. It was very confusing to me so I shut it out and until now have not been interested in it, or the NFL. Period. I found it boring with all of these primadonna/divas strutting around after they score or whatever. Then we went on a long drive and there was no way I could change the subject because after two or so hours on the road there was nothing left to talk about. The boy was obsessed and I had to listen. And then I acquiesced. Before I got the "K" of OK out, he was setting up my account on his smart phone.

He is the Roger Goodell of our league and I am the proud owner of the Soppchoppy Weasels. I selected a mighty fighting weasel logo. My wife's team is the Squatchy Scooter Poots. She hasn't figured out her logo and, you know, how do you do that? A brown cloud? Anyway, draft day came around and it was pretty fun. My starting QB is Andrew Luck (Matt Ryan is 2nd fiddle) and I have Adrian Peterson, LaShaun McCoy, Julio Jones, O' Dell Beckham, Jr. and the Seahawks defense. The season is quite young but with horsepower like that, anybody can see that the 2016 Weasels are full up with BAAAAAD potential.

So now, on Sundays we turn on all of the TV's and watch and listen and jump up and down and scream WHO-LEEE-OH! as Julio does another super human thing on the grass. It's very much a non-drunk family thing and, really, the devil ain't got a dog in the hunt. They're going to fix the head injuries- they have to- and I just don't see the evil in having a good time.

It's a good thing my religion doesn't run parallel to SEC football, though, because Saturday is another story all together. Bama football requires assistance and because it's on Saturday, I get a pass.

Savage Glascock

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I desperately need a beer just from reading Mr. Azan’s post. To be honest, I only read it thinking there was going to be a funny punch line. This country and world as a whole have some pretty serious issues happening on a daily basis so I think God is going to give us a pass on football for the time being. However, if Mr. Azan is flipping through the channels and the tube somehow gets stuck on football, I will not judge him if he feels the need to repent his sins.

As for Mr. Glascock, judgment day is coming Oct. 24 when David meets Goliath. VFL.

Chris Morgan