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Switching Teams: Are You Missing?
04-29-2008
by Johann Snyder
I find this time of year very disorientating. It’s not because allergies make my head fuzzy (although they do), and it’s not because of a change in the tilt of the earths’ axis (although as I understand it that also has something to do with spring). No, I get disorientated this time of year because after five months of following certain players on certain teams in the NFL, it’s right around this time of year that all of that changes. Suddenly, I’m confused as to who’s playing for whom as players change teams in search of a better deal or that ever elusive world championship. That’s not to say that changing teams is a bad idea. In fact, I can think of one particular instance where it’s actually very good and should be highly encouraged.
The off season is always difficult for die hard fans of certain football teams because the future of the upcoming season is always so uncertain as teams shuffle personnel. Personally, I’ve never really understood what the difference between playing for twenty million dollars and twenty five million dollars is, it’s still a boat load of money, but that is just one of the many reasons players have for switching teams. There’s also the issue of winning. No player likes playing for a losing team, so being able to sign-on with a winning team, especially one with high prospects of winning a championship is always alluring, although it doesn’t always work out (sorry, New England). Still, while situations may improve for players, it can often be a hard time for fans. What do you do when a player you like leaves your team and joins a rival squad? How is that supposed to make you feel? What do you do when you enjoy a certain team because of the quality and character of certain players and suddenly those players have dispersed to other teams? More importantly, what do you do when you’re talking sports with someone and you mention how you enjoy such and such a player who plays for so and so team and the person you’re talking with says, “Dude, they went free agent and signed with a different team months ago. What’s with you?” Suddenly your sports cred is in the basement; how do you recover from that? These are tough questions, but the real question we need to ask ourselves is do we know which team we’re on and should we perhaps switch teams?
The nice thing about life is that it’s somewhat simpler than sports. There’s less equipment to put on, not as many regulations about who and how hard we can hit someone (although I wouldn’t really suggest doing that in the first place), and a lot less rigorous training and practice sessions. Best of all, there’s only two teams to choose from. Although these two teams have many different monikers (I prefer to call them The Missing and The Found), it really boils down to whether or not you’re playing for God’s team or the devil’s team. I know that sounds dramatic, but isn’t that what we love about sports; the drama? The other thing you may be thinking is that you aren’t on either team, but you’re just waiting to see how things play out. Well that’s something else that’s different about life and sports; in life there are no spectators, and not choosing one side means by default that you’re on the other (Luke 11:23 NIV).
This is where we get to the part about switching teams, which is actually a rather crucial topic. You see, until we choose a team, by default we’re on the roster of The Missing (that would the team run by Lucifer). It may seem that this team has its perks. We may even be led to believe it pays better; and in many cases it does, for the short term. Eventually, however, those so-called perks will exact a devastating toll on our lives, and will eventually lead to death. Not exactly the best deal around. That’s where the other team, The Found, comes in. You see, we have the option to switch teams if we so choose, and like the NFL, there are several compelling reasons to do so. For one, the GM of The Found actually cares about his players and personally takes care of their needs. The pay is far better in the long run and there’s a much better retirement plan. Perhaps the most compelling reason, however, is the reason that any player ultimately wants to switch teams; to be on the winning team. Unlike the NFL season where there are no sure things (again, sorry New England), we know exactly how things are going to play out in life and who ultimately wins. More than that, the head coaches for both teams know the outcome as well. The head coach of The Missing knows that they ultimately lose, and he wants to take down with him as many players as possible. The head coach of The Found knows they’re going to win, so he wants to recruit as many players as possible to enjoy the victory. In the end, however, the choice is left up to us; we can switch sides to the winning team, or remain on the losing team and enjoy the temporary but ultimately destructive perks of doing so.
Keeping track of players in the NFL is a disorientating and often futile exercise for me because I just don’t care that much about who’s play for whom, I just enjoy watching football. In life, however, the stakes are much higher. It’s eternity that’s either gained or lost depending on which side you’re on, so I have a much more vested interest in knowing who’s playing for which side. I don’t want to see anyone, friend or stranger, to end up on the losing side. That’s why as well as being a player, I’m also a recruiter. I’m here to tell you that there’s a much better deal to be had by switching teams. In fact, it’s the best deal you’ll ever find in life. And besides, who doesn’t want to be on the winning side? Let me, or one of the other players, tell you all about it. But you’d better hurry, because the season ends soon, and then it will be too late to switch teams. Don’t let that happen to you.
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