Faith and Sports Series: Josef Smith - Football

When it comes to sports impacting my faith in college there have not been a lot of positives. Throughout high school, I would attend church every Sunday morning and Catechism every Wednesday night. I was the representative for my church - St. Patrick's - in the larger dioceses Catholic Youth Activities Planning Committee, a two-time NCYC participant and a frequent helper at my church's food bank. What have I done faith wise since coming to Iowa City over a year ago? Not much.
Now, I usually just go to mass every Sunday night if something else doesn’t come up, and I’ll periodically attend a bible study. It is somewhat discouraging when I look at how involved I am in my faith since coming to college and joining a sports team. I would be misrepresenting football to say it’s the big roadblock in the way of my faith. In truth, football is something that I, at times, use as an excuse of getting in the way of my faith, but it isn’t pushing itself there. The phrase, “I would, but I just don’t have enough time” isn’t completely true, and I, just like many other people, tell themselves this phrase often. In reality, I have the time to devote to my faith, but prioritizing it seems harder when there are so many other commitments I have each day. Because it takes more effort to prioritize my faith when my attention is focused elsewhere - school, sports, social life - it makes the time I do spend focusing on my faith all the more rewarding. So, I think to say that sports haven’t had many positive impacts on my faith is a lie. In truth, I have the time and resources in front of me to be more involved in my faith. I’ve done it before back in high school, so surely, I can do it again. The point I would say I’m trying to make is that as an athlete, you shouldn’t let time constraints of a sport be the reason why you’re skipping your weekly mass or why you aren’t showing up to a bible study. If you know your faith comes first, then put it there!