Marking the seasons is a part of all our lives. Some sports mark the seasons: fall is football season; winter is basketball season; spring is baseball season; summer is track season. Now in the wide world of sports, there are other sports to include: soccer is year-round, it seems, as are golf and to some degree, tennis. Winter and summer Olympics seem their own season. With the wide, online sports programs even what seem to non-fans as obscure sports are available for any avid fan. Sports have always been a part of human life. Every culture has its own version of them, probably because humans love both competition and teamwork. No doubt it is possible to become too obsessed with various sports to the detriment of other concerns. There are examples in scripture of various allusions to sports, even using them as metaphors for the spiritual life. We are enjoined to “run the race that is set before us.” The discipline and endurance that characterize athletic endeavors are appropriate examples for spiritual discipline and faithful endurance. Like physical exercise, spiritual exercise is better when we get up and do it, as opposed to just watching from the sidelines.