Bleachers and the Book of Job

I read Bleachers by John Grisham while I had some extra time at the beach. It's an insightful, though brief and fictional, look at the value and the foolishness of high school athletics. The story is told from the perspective of formerly worshipped high school football greats.

It reminded me, fairly vividly, of a conversation that I had with a close friend during our senior year of high school. We were walking on the bleachers at the big game: the football game between our high school and our arch-rival. Her dad was the head football coach and this was an important event for her and her family. She had been praying for a win and, when it was evident that we would lose, expressed her doubt in the existence of God.

I know you may be thinking that she was immature and shallow, as if God could be on our team's side for something as inconsequential as a high school football game.

It is here that Grisham's book and Job, for me, intersect. Her dad, the head football coach, was one of those rare persons who combined exceptional coaching talent with integrity and commitment to youth development (this is the rare part) that superseded the desire to win football games. I'm making an educated guess but I think that there was a kid (or perhaps a few kids) who didn't play by all the rules (making practices or making the grades) but, if he (they) played, it would make the difference between winning and losing. It's an age-old dilemma that even I, during my career as a summer league swim coach, has had to face.

The coach, our head football coach, made the right decision but lost. The booster club would have rather seen him compromise his values for a win.

For most of the book dedicated to him (a cosmic Trading Places found in the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures-Job is Dan Akroyd), Job argued that, contrary to popular and long-held beliefs, those who are honorable, righteous, and charitable to the less fortunate suffer while those who are greedy, dishonest, and unrighteous prosper. It's troubling to realize and reckon with.

The next season, after my friend and I had graduated, my friend's family moved back to their home state. Having resigned his position at our high school, her dad took a position as assistant football coach with a college program. In the fall, our high school won the 4A State Football Championship.

After all these years, and a reading of Bleachers and Job, I finally understand my friend's point of view.