Amidst the turmoil sweeping across the globe, the wars, disputed elections, famines, contentious migrations and abandoned refugees, and more, one often wonders why, in the sated affluence of the West, millions of people devote hour upon hour to . . . college football.
     For those who play, college football is a way of life.  For those who follow it, it is, in many cases, likewise.  For those who earn their living from it, and there are many, ranging from the coaches to the commentators to the people who serve food at the stadiums, it is, for some, highly lucrative.
     Numerous pundits have commented on what they term the sorry state of college football, citing the enormous amounts of money spent on it, the inordinate attention paid to it, the way in which it seems to eclipse all other functions of a college, and more.  I cannot disagree.  The money is excessive, the exploitation deplorable, the myopic focus befuddling.
     It's a tough call.  The sport entertains millions, keeps millions more employed, and provides a way for many people to attend college, after a fashion, they would not have otherwise.  If we measure all things with a financial yardstick, this is fine.  If we make our measure transcendence and larger meaning, however, we will view the sport more circumspectly.  We will remember that meaning is bigger than present joy and glory, more profound than temporal achievement, that genuine meaning is found in the degree to which we align our finitude with eternity, in the extent to which we ground our moment with the eternal fact and truth of God.
    Only then will it really matter.