Early kickoff creates a church-football conflict for Tennessee Titans fans
The Titans and Sunday morning church services are squaring off, pitting two Southern traditions against each other this weekend.
The football team is jetting to London this week to play the Los Angeles Chargers.
Usually, church and the gridiron — two cultural lightning rods in Southern life — can sidestep each other in the buckle of the Bible Belt, but that won’t be the case for this overseas matchup.
Kickoff is an early 8:30 a.m. CDT because London is six hours ahead of Nashville.
That means many church-going Titans fans will be sitting in pews as the hometown team tries to redeem itself after its dismal 21-0 loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Rev. Casey Cramer, a former Titans team chaplain who played in the NFL, does not see the overlap as a conflict. Titans fans who prioritize church, but want to watch the game have options, like digital video recorders and a variety of service times.
“I think we can all thank the Lord for Saturday night services and TiVo,” said Cramer, an assistant pastor at Christ Community Church in Franklin.
Eric Swann, a season ticket holder and an associate pastor at Believers’ Chapel in Murfreesboro, said there is always something else that people could be doing on Sunday morning, whether sleeping in late or attending youth sports tournaments.
“I think church attendance from week to week is a personal decision that people have to make,” Swann said. “Hopefully, they feel some sort of desire to be at church and to connect with God and to connect with other fellow believers.”
Swann, who has missed church to spend time with his dad at a home game, will be in the pulpit on Sunday morning, but plans to record the game. He likely will be checking the score between services. However, Swann may not watch it if the Titans repeat their lackluster performance.
Is it OK to skip church to watch the Titans play?
“I think it’s more of a sacrifice now than it’s ever been to show up to church on Sunday mornings,” Swann said. “The Titans game is just one other thing that people have to choose.”
For the Rev. Kevin Ulmet, senior pastor of Nashville First Church of the Nazarene, the 8:30 a.m. kickoff won’t impact services at his East Nashville church, which is known for renting out their parking spaces during Titans home games. The money they raise supports the church’s ministries.
“Worship always supersedes football — so we’ll be having regular services,” Ulmet said. “DVR’s and highlights are always available later!”
Cramer, who found faith through a fellow NFL player, skipped Sunday worship services to minister to and pray for the Titans when he was the team’s chaplain. He felt that God was leading him to serve in that way on those Sundays.
“I think the real question is what is your priority?” Cramer said. “Am I on the Lord’s side and where am I supposed to be, to be on his side? And, that’s only something that he can give us.”
Fans are already balancing football and church
While the extra-early Titans game is atypical, it is not uncommon for late Sunday morning worship services to run past the usual noon-or-later kickoffs in the 17-week regular season.
Die-hard, church-going Titans fans devise game-day routines that ensure they can watch their team and worship their God.
Walter Smart, a season ticket holder who worships at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, has a plan for home and away games.
When his team is in town, Smart operates the camera during his church’s 8:15 a.m. service before heading over to Nissan Stadium to watch the game from Section 305.
He uses his DVR when the Titans are out of town and he is behind the camera during the 8:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services. He avoids spoilers at all costs until he can return home and watch it after the fact.
“I turn my cell phone off. I don’t interact with people. Typically ... we pick restaurants where they don’t have all the TVs in there because I want to avoid the scores. I don’t like knowing,” Smart said. “I want to watch it.”
Rick Florian, who attends Christ Community Church in Franklin, relies on his DVR, too. After church, he and his family typically go out to eat for lunch before heading home to watch the game. For Florian, going to church instead of watching it live is about keeping his priorities in order.
“I believe that we were made for God’s sake. He made us for himself, and that is our primary relationship,” Florian said. “I think it’s always important to take all what entertainment is in context. I think we are often consumed by it.”
Jason Daniels, a season ticket holder who attends Hope Church in Memphis, takes advantage of his church’s multiple weekend service times in order to travel to Nashville for the home games and accommodate his busy work schedule.
“They give us four options to make sure that we can fit it in our schedule,” Daniels said. “It’s one of the benefits to being a bigger church. There’s just a lot more options.”
Adam Currence, a Titans fan who attends East Wood Church of Christ in Paris, Tennessee, understands the temptation to skip a service to watch the game. But he’ll be in church on Sunday morning resisting the urge to check his phone. He plans to catch the start of the game, and then record it while he is in church, avoiding spoilers.
“I’m a hardcore Titans fan, but I’m also a hardcore Jesus fan,” Currence said. “It won’t be hard to break away, but I will be eager to get home and watch the rest of it.”
How this affects Christian players in the NFL
For the faithful on the field, the clash of football and Sunday morning church services is just a part of their reality.
“As an athlete, on Sunday, we’re playing the game,” Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said.
His faith is a big part of his life and he squeezes in worship and Bible readings where he can. Jackson reads a daily devotional so he always has religious message with him regardless of whether he can make it to church that day.
“We understand church is a big deal, but we do Bible study here, we do it when we go on the road. So at the end of the day, if you’re not going to church, you’re getting the word in somehow, someway,” Jackson said. “It’s all about whenever you can get the word in.” Reporter Erik Bacharach contributed to this report.
Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.