Did Jesus Play Sports?

It now seems as though world of sports has almost become a platform for many athletes to pronounce their faith. This is different from the past where a touchdown was scored and the player did a silly dance. Now a lot of the time when a player scores in any sport he or she often points to the sky or takes a knee in prayer.

This as of late has become a very hot topic. Does religion have a place in sports? Many would ask, how can you pray to God in order to win a game? That has to be an unfair to the other team…right?

Whatever the answer to that question may be, it's not stopping the millions of athletes that use sports and the spotlight as a platform to advertise their beliefs. Most notably have been the actions of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Born in the Philippines to two Christian evangelists, Tebow was brought up to share his faith openly, which in many cases has been criticized by his teammates, the Executive Vice President of the Denver Broncos (John Elway), and currently Brady Quinn, who has been the backup to Tim. Since, and even before, Tebow was drafted, he's sent college football as well as professional football into a religious flame that only seems to grow whenever he's criticized or critiqued.

Football isn't the only sport that's been set ablaze. It seems that Jeremy Lin has taken the NBA world by storm, a storm many label as "Linsanity." Like Tebow, the 6'3, 200 lb, shooting guard for the New York Knicks has been one to openly share his love for God. Lin has been known for his humbleness and willingness to point at everyone else besides himself. He recently turned down the cover of GQ magazine, stating "You can fall as fast as you rise.. and I want to make sure I'm not doing a disservice to my team by milking all the attention or trying to be on the cover of everything but, at the end of the day that's not what I love. I love playing basketball, and that's my passion and I want to stay focused on that" (courtesy of ESPN.com).

So is the sports field big enough for both talent and faith? Tebow and Lin along with thousands of other athletes seem to make it fit. But is it needed ? Well, that's for you to decide.