Dealing With Christian Entitlement

Changes To Farmington Schedule

There are times in the world of sports a play is witnessed with discrepancies so blatantly obvious that questions abound surrounding the manner in which it was officiated.

Over the decades a pattern has emerged involving what can only be described as “Christian entitlement” — a presumptous belief that one’s religion somehow entitles them to certain competitive advantages. In a worst-case scenario an air of superiority begins to dominate thought processes causing a sports team or an institution to see themselves as better than their fellow man. As a consequence they may succumb to temptation using divination against opponents rather than operating by faith.

This is nothing new. Sports fans have long memories recalling a sequence of freak occurrences victimizing the Colorado Buffaloes at critical times in their loss to Notre Dame during the 1990 Orange Bowl.

This was a trend consistently observed early on covering sports in Montana whenever one particular school was involved. In 1983, they even went so far as to petition the Montana High School Athletic Association alleging a conference opponent wrongly used a foreign- exchange student they claimed had taken up a university-type course of study when no such thing existed.

They came across as thinking they should never lose to this opponent after getting beat, 22- 6, and giving up 196 rushing yards to Warren Kahn, a young South Afri- can rugby player, who never played football previously but was blessed with 4.5 speed.

Thirty-one years later a disturbing sequence of game rulings helped spoil Farmington’s 5A West debut against Little Rock Christian in volleyball and football homecoming.

On Friday, the Warriors were awarded 15 yards and a first down for what the referee called a dead-ball foul when a running back ran hard laterally toward the sideline and was hit by a pair of defenders, whose momentum carried both them and the ball-carrier out of bounds.

Since the running back made no effort to turn upfield, one wonders was that a designed play intended to draw defenders near the sideline and set up a penalty?

The call aggravated Farmington defensive coordinator Jay Harper, who barked, “That’s not a penalty. That’s not very good, they were too close to the sideline.”

Later in the drive a pass thrown to a receiver, who appeared out of bounds, fell incomplete on fourth and seven. Defensive holding was called and four plays later the Warriors were awarded a first down by a favorable spot.

Little Rock Christian went on to score taking a 7-0 lead en route to handing Farmington a 42-26 loss. During a break in the action Harper gave the official an earful and Farmington fans yelled, “Those were three bad calls to sustain their drive. That’s terrible.”

The old saying, “Winners never cheat and cheaters never win” is a myth. Sometimes victories in the sporting world are accomplished through dubious manipulation of game circumstances.

So how may parents and fans deal with this type of behavior? The answer is simple: pray ahead of time and all through the competition, not cursing the other team but utilizing intercessory faith to create an atmosphere for the team you’re supporting to succeed.

In the late ’90s an urgent call came from Donna May Chavez, grandmother of the State C basketball MVP Mike Chavez, whose defending state champion Heart Butte Warriors were facing elimination in a challenge game against Chester after losing in the district semifinals. I agreed to travel with her and Mike’s great uncle Ellis “Rabbit” Knows Gun 400 miles to northern Montana on potentially hazardous roads during winter. These people are Catholic and my faith would be considered protestant but we prayed combining our collective faith addressing players’ health and officiating concerns.

Mike scored only 5 points in that game and fouled out but not to worry, one of his teammates lit up the basket from 3-point range for 34 points and we witnessed divine intervention. Chester’s star player kept driving the lane taking off-balance shots and missing badly, then holding out his hands as if expecting a foul call. The Heart Butte defenders consistently backed off and let him go into his act and the officials couldn’t blow their whistles. They looked like they were going to but something prevented them.

Ironically, if Chester’s star had just squared up and concentrated on making baskets instead of trying to draw fouls, his team might have won.

Instead, Heart Butte went on to win a second straight state crown.

There are a lot of families of faith among Farmington, Lincoln and Prairie Grove, who can lay hold of this basic concept and start utilizing it. What better way to prepare for encountering teams with a “Christian entitlement” mentality or any opponent? MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISELEADER. FARMINGTON — Changes have occurred to Farmington’s 2014 varsity football schedule. The changes are as follows: Oct. 3 vs. Greenbrier has been switched to an away game; Oct. 17 vs. Morril- ton is now a home game for Farmington; and Oct. 31 vs. Maumelle has also been switched to an away game. As a result of these changes, Farmington loses one home varsity football game for 2014 and will play six road games during the regular season.