The PFB Sports Survey: Scot McKnight
March 4, 2008 – 9:14 am | by bryanIf you're new here, and you're into sports and/or the Christian faith, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The PFB Sports Survey is a new feature here at Prayers For Blowouts where we throw 12 sports related questions at some of the most notable voices among Christian authors, pastors, musicians, and busboys to see if they like sports as much as we do.
Today’s spotlight is on Scot McKnight, who, as a junior in High School, was capable of high-jumping over Luol Deng.
Scot is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is a professor, speaker, and author of more than 20 books. His new book, “40 Days of Living the Jesus Creed”, releases in late April . His blog, JesusCreed.org, has been ranked by Technorati as the #1 site for the Emergent Church.
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1. What number best describes the role sports play in your life on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “i have absolutely no interest at all” and 10 is “My friends refer to sports as ‘Baal’ because I have an unhealthy obsession bordering on idolatry”.
SM: 6. Sometimes there is a really good game on TV and I have something to read, etc., and I choose the latter. I prefer sports, like golf, that permit me to read and watch at the same time.
2. Rank your 3 overall favorite sports.
SM: 1. Golf - great TV sport for me.
2. MLB - we love to watch the Cubs
3. NCAA Men’s Basketball - though I tire of the pace and lack of good passing
3. What is the one team that you root for more passionately than any other, and is there a team that you hate, maybe a little too much?
SM: The Cubs. The NY Yankees.
4. Do you play fantasy sports?
SM: No. I feel the same way about card games and board games - too much luck involved. I don’t see the attraction to Fantasy Sports.
5. What is the most memorable sporting event you have ever attended in person?
SM: Final night of Olympic Track and Field in Atlanta.
6. What is the best highlight and/or worst lowlight of your sports playing career as a child or as an adult?
SM: Highlight - High-jumping 6′9″ as a junior in HS.
Lowlight - Failing to reach the finals in the State track meet highjumping as a junior.
7. If you could change one thing about sports, what would it be?
SM: DH in baseball, definitely. (Ed. note: I’m assuming he wants to get rid of it, being an NL guy)
Also, Congress should break the MLB Players Union so all drugs can be tested.
8. Do you have an opinion on Christian athletes who, without being prompted, talk about their faith in post-game interviews?
SM: Not as long as it is done with some integrity and intelligence.
9. High school gym class…your favorite 45 minutes of the day or the source of countless nightmares and embarrassments?
SM: At our high school we did not have to attend HS gym class if we were on a sports team.
10. Sports are often the whipping boy of pastors and clergy because so much passion, money, time, and energy is poured into them. Do you think this criticism is valid, or are sports okay as a diversion from the stresses of life.
SM: Yes, this can be a fair criticism. Sports are a diversion but can readily become all-consuming.
11. If you had to compete against other writers, in which of these 5 competitions would you have the best chance of winning? 5-mile run, 18 holes of golf, free throw shooting contest, arm wrestling match, or a game of bowling.
SM: 18 holes of golf or FT shooting. (I once made 144 in a row!)
12. What is your favorite sports movie of all time?
SM: Hoosiers.
You can click here for an exhaustive (but not exhausting) list of everyone who’s been featured as a PFB Sports Survey participant.
If you’d like to be considered for the PFB Sports Survey, or know someone who should be, send along a name and email address to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail(dot)com.
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