Sports on Sunday - Our Family's View

It's SOCCER SEASON! I'm really not a "soccer mom" except that I drive them to and from games. I really only pay attention when one of the boys is on the field and I'm not first in line to be "Team Mom". But, both boys love it and it's the only sport besides Karate that we do each year on a regular basis.

This coming weekend, D has a game on Sunday. Whenever we fill out our soccer registration, we always put in the comments box, "Will not play on Sunday". That doesn't mean that none of the games will be on Sunday, that just means that we are giving the coach advance notice. So far, we've had only a few games be on Sunday. I think when they see that, they try to limit the number of Sunday games for that team. I know it's a pain in the neck for the scheduler's but I appreciate the effort.

So, here comes our Sunday game. I told D's coach and his usual response is, "Why?" accompanied by a look of total confusion. When we try to explain, we get a "But if it's not during church then you can come?" Finally, we just tell him that the whole day is for church activities and not sports. He still never gets it after 3 years.

It IS really hard to explain, but, honestly, I don't feel like I need to explain it to anyone. We don't play sports on Sunday - period.

I have always admired athletes who try their hardest to keep the Sabbath Day holy. It's a personal decision - especially when you're a pro-athlete.

A few years ago, there was a BYU student who got drafted by an NFL team and when he said he would't play on Sunday, it was a deal-breaker for him. He went on to become an Elementary School teacher if I remember correctly. I was so proud of him. He gave up millions to make thousands.

Then there was the marathon runner from Alaska who flew all the way to either NYC or Boston to run a marathon only to find out it was run on SUNDAY. Since he was there already he went ahead and ran the full course on Saturday. He missed out on his dream but compromised to keep the Sabbath Day Holy - which was apparently more important.

The Sabbath is Holy at our house. We don't watch regular TV - just BYU TV and videos that keep the spirit of the day. We stay in our church clothes so we can keep the attitude of the Sabbath. Our kids can go outside and sit in the treehouse or on the bench swing to read, but they can't go out and play. And, no home work is allowed at our house on the Sabbath.

The world (and sometimes other members) don't understand our quirky Sunday style, but that's okay. We're doing the best we can to keep that day Holy and set it apart from the other 6 days. Saturday is for sports, Sunday is for the Lord. It's our effort to "Stand a Little Taller" as President Hinckley always advised us to do.