prayers for blowouts

The PFB Sports Survey: Donald Miller

June 3, 2008 – 9:45 am
Posted by bryan in » Uncategorized

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The PFB Sports Survey is a weekly feature here at Prayers For Blowouts where we throw a few sports related questions at some of the most notable voices among Christian authors, pastors, musicians, and veterinarians to see if they like sports as much as we do.

Today’s spotlight is on Donald Miller, who regrets not punching someone in the face in junior high.

Donald Miller is the author of Blue Like Jazz (that of the NYT Best-Seller Variety), Searching for God Knows What, To Own a Dragon, and Through Painted Deserts. In a few days he is embarking on a cross-country bike ride to raise money for the Blood:Water Mission (see video here). Don, along with 20 or so other riders, will begin the trip on Friday with their back wheels in the Pacific Ocean and will finish some time in July with their front wheels in the Atlantic. (for more info, check out Don’s Website)

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1. What number best describes the role sports play in your life on a scale of 1 to 10?

DM: 5. i like watching sports but usually only when they come to a post-season tournament. pro-football and college football are the only sports i watch weekly during the season. so i wouldn’t say i am an addict yet. as for playing sports, i really only go to the gym and ride my bike. when i was a kid i played tennis all the time. but i don’t play much anymore. i haven’t done anything competitive in years. but as i’ve lost weight in the last few years, i would say i’m just now beginning to appreciate an active lifestyle.

2. Rank your 3 overall favorite sports, college or pro.

DM: i would say pro football first, then college football. after that it’s a grab. i end up watching basketball on television, but would rather be at a baseball game live. mostly for the beer and conversation, though.

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?

DM: i root for the texas longhorns the most passionately. but that is a near tie with the oregon ducks. i’m talking about football, here. i’d really love to see oregon get a national championship. as for hating a team, i don’t really hate one. i don’t root for USC but that is really it. the chicago bears bother me, but only because they beat my seahawks in some key games in the last couple years.

4. Do you play fantasy sports?

DM: i’ve not gotten into it. i have the time, actually, but usually get distracted and so i know i would fail to put my team together a couple weeks and that would cost me. so i stay away.

5. What is the most memorable sporting event you have ever attended in person?

DM: the houston astros in a playoff with the new york mets, 1986. i was a kid and the mets went on to beat the astros in 6 games, then beat the red sox in the world series. i still remember billy hatcher’s homerun.

6. What is the best highlight and/or worst lowlight of your sports playing career as a child or as an adult?

DM: I didn’t play on a team in high school. i played football in junior high for about five minutes, and threw my back out as just a kid. that would happen again about three more times in the next fifteen years. anyway, just a general memory of playing tennis till midnight and later at local courts around houston. we’d play till we could hardly walk. those were great, hot, summer nights. i loved the game.

7. If you could change one thing about sports, what would it be?

DM: i’d have to think about this for some time because this is a great question. but off the top of my head, i think college football needs a playoff. it is a crime there isn’t one, because it would be a great opportunity for many teams and colleges. it has to be a money thing, somehow.

8. Do you have an opinion on Christian athletes who, without being prompted, talk about their faith in post-game interviews?

DM: i think it is great that they talk about their faith, but i don’t think they have to. but i think it’s fine when anybody talks about their faith. some of the athletes are pretty young, so i hope christians aren’t using them or pinning too much hope on them, but other than that, i’ve no thought about the subject.

9. High school gym class…your favorite 45 minutes of the day or the source of countless nightmares and embarrassments?

DM: confusing nightmares and embarrassments. but i wish i could do it all over again. i’d do it very differently, i think. i was just an insecure kid. so if i could go back i’d probably punch somebody and that would be that. i didn’t know i could, at the time.

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.

DM: i don’t hear so much of this. if anything, i hear the opposite, pastors playing up sports and using sports analogies, which i sometimes like. but i can’t say i’ve heard too much criticism of sports from the clergy.

11. If you had to compete against other media folk, 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.

DM: well, i am disappointed that there isn’t a frisbee golf event or a bike riding event listed here. but of these, i could probably take a few of them in arm wrestling, and maybe one or two in golf, but i think i might get killed on the rest.

12. What is your favorite sports movie of all-time?

DM: i think Miracle was a very well told story, and i love that it is true. Hoosiers is a great movie, of course. but Chariots of Fire is the best. no question.

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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.