Lance Berkman + Jesus = Night At the Ballpark?
- 08.19.09
- The Sports Chick, houston astros, lance berkman
- 2 Comments
The Astros are struggling to find promotions that’ll bring people to the ballpark now that they’re basically out of contention. (Yesterday, their loss put them 10 games back of the Cards in the NL Central and 9 games back for the NL wild card.
Saturday’s ’s gimmick is Faith and Family Night. It’ll feature a pregame concert by Christian rock band Mercy Me. Furthermore, fans are exhorted to arrive early to hear testimony from Lance Berkman before the concert.
Before we really write about this, we want to be clear…we admire anyone who is willing to share his or her faith, no matter what religion is espoused. However, we’re really taken aback by the idea that a baseball game is the correct forum for any kind of planned religious testimony.
Many baseball players are very strong Christians–in part probaly because many come from the South, where some denominations are hugely influential and common in the general culture. But we live in a country that has benefitted, in the minds of most and certainly of UPH, from separation of church and state.
If baseball is America’s Pastime and America’s a country without an official religion, it seems incongruous to mix a specific religion so directly into a secular public forum.
Of course, it’s true that one could skip the event and just show up for the game. But as far as we can tell, promotions meant to bring people to enjoy America’s pastime should be engaging for and inclusive of as many of those Americans as possible. You wouldn’t have a boys-only promotion, or a White’s-only promotion: even if other people are ostensibly welcome, it’s the sad truth that groups tend to self seggregate: not something we should be encouraging. If someone’s going to be the only African-American at pregame festivities, or the only Jew, or the only woman, that someone is going to feel awkward and left out. That shouldn’t be something the Houston Astros, or anyone other team, encourages as an organization. One athlete sharing his personal experience? All for it. A team getting behind it as a promotion, definitely not so much.
That’s our two cents. What’s yours?
“But we live in a country that has benefitted, in the minds of most and certainly of UPH, from separation of church and state.
If baseball is America’s Pastime and America’s a country without an official religion, it seems incongruous to mix a specific religion so directly into a secular public forum.”
I think separation of church and state and not having faith and family night at Minute Maid are not the same thing or not particularly related. baseball is in fact not the “state” in any sense of the word. it might still be incongruous to mix religion and baseball, but I feel like the fact that the U.S. has benefitted from the separation of church and state is not entirely relevant to this discussion. really, Minute Maid/the Astros have pretty wide-ranging rights to do what they want to try to get people to buy more tickets.
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“You wouldn’t have a boys-only promotion, or a White’s-only promotion: even if other people are ostensibly welcome, it’s the sad truth that groups tend to self seggregate: not something we should be encouraging. If someone’s going to be the only African-American at pregame festivities, or the only Jew, or the only woman, that someone is going to feel awkward and left out.”
well, okay, you wouldn’t do those things, but people don’t choose to be men or white. people do choose their religion. whether or not someone would “fit in” at faith & family night at Minute Maid is partly under their control.
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basically, I see your point, but I like to pick at little details.
I actually kind of agree with you, really. I felt more like it was something I wanted to explore than like I had a definite position…and I’d mostly talked myself out of my own angle by the time I posted.