Readers Talk LDS Sports: “Why Should I Care?”
By Kelly L. Martinez

On April 28, Meridian Magazine ran an article asking the question, ‘Why do we care so much about high-profile LDS?’  Sports columnist Kelly Martinez reports on the various responses that flooded his e-mail box in the days following that column.

To say that I have been rejuvenated in my endeavors to provide Meridian readers with stories on LDS athletes would be a true statement attributed to Meridian readers’ responses to my article “Why Should I Care?”  Several viewpoints were offered but only one consensus: keep bringing us stories about LDS athletes and celebrities.

I appreciate the feedback and intend to use it as a guide for future articles on the LDS sporting community.  Stay tuned and, in the meantime, read on:

Church’s adolescence

There are probably several reasons for our attachment to Mormon celebrity ...

One might be our adolescence as a church. We are still relatively young, and like teenagers we have a certain bravado that disguises to a degree our youthful insecurities.  We need external validation, and Mormons successful in the public eye provide that validation.  Successful Mormons reflect well on the church, which reflects well on us individually.

Another could be that they are indeed role models for us.  They are a clear example to us of being successful in the world without giving in to the world.

And there's also just the fact of emotional proximity.  The closer someone is connected to us, the more what they do affects us. And nothing except for perhaps family relationship connects us more closely than our shared faith.

So when someone of our faith does something remarkably poorly or remarkably well, it affects us, even if they live far away.

Rick Walton

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Examples needed

As a non-member with my wife and four grown children LDS, and me a "born again” Christian ... I enjoyed your article.

Perhaps the fascination is somewhat like the well known evangelical "born again" Christian athletes who are vocal about their faith and who have shared that faith at Billy Graham crusades for at least thirty years. Their impact on young people to encourage them to bring Jesus into their lives cannot be denied. Programs such a Fellowship of Christian Athletes is often led at the local and regional levels by former star athletes.  

The fascination with LDS star athletes/celebrities by church members is because overall there are very few (of them) and those who live the LDS faith provide a much needed model similar to the FCA.

Frank McLeskey
Fairfax Station, Virginia

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Higher standard

We cheer for the ones who are honorable in their respect of their priesthood and their religion while trying to be successful in the world.  I think we hold them to a higher standard, but we also invest our emotions in their successes and failures.  I personally hope for every good successful thing for them in the sport of their choice.  But sometimes the Lord has other plans.

Janie Moysh

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We know them

People are often interested in the lives of famous people, what they've been through, where they've come from and the like.  I think in the LDS faith, our religion is so much a part of who we are, that having that common link gives us an almost automatic link to that famous person.  We KNOW what is important to them because it is also important to us.  It is always more fun to cheer for people when we know them, so in a very fundamental way, knowing they are LDS means we know them spiritually.

Michelle Eyring
Mesa, Arizona

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They’re missionaries

Part of the caring is natural for all LDS.  Most of it is, I think, missionary zeal.  High profile Saints, if they let on that they are LDS, give the Church publicity that it wouldn't otherwise have.

Margaret Aurand

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In but not of the world

As a convert to the Church, I have always tried to be aware of my faith, to be conscious of what I believe, and why.  I can't make a huge difference in this world, as I have little or no clout outside of my own family and ward.  But I watch with interest the more visible members, to see how they manage being in the world, but not of it.

How does an LDS football or baseball player manage to keep the Sabbath holy?  How do LDS businesspeople deal with the cutthroat ways of their competitors?  How can an LDS politician remain true to his/her covenants in a place as worldly as Washington, or any State capital?  These very visible members serve as examples to me, and I suppose to others, of how to negotiate the turbulent waters of our 21st century life and (hopefully) come out on top spiritually.  What I try to do on a small stage is played out for all to see by these Saints.

Sometimes, the only Mormon a person consciously sees is a sports figure, or businessman who is identified as such by the media. Keep telling their stories, keep giving them positive press, talk to them about their lives, their faith, (and) their aspirations. Keep letting us know how they do it, and why.  I, for one, need to hear it.

Rita Miller
Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Two reasons

I think there are at least two reasons we are interested in LDS athletes and other celebrities: (1) we want to identify with their success and see it as increasing the possibility of such success for us or other LDS, such as our children; and (2) we know that prominent Mormons can greatly affect how the Church and the rest of its members are perceived, not only by the general public, but especially by opinion leaders and government officials who can affect the ability of the Church to accomplish its goals.

 While there can be an excess of pride and hero worship involved in following the lives and deeds of LDS celebrities, not to mention the grasping at straws of rumored Mormonism that are not true, I think that these two main reasons for interest in the lives of famous Mormons are positive.

Raymond Takashi Swenson
Idaho Falls, Idaho

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