THE SPIRIT OF THE COLISEUM II

Many years ago I received a word concerning the addiction to sports that was called The Spirit of the Coliseum. What I heard was a comparison of sports to the coliseum games the Romans played in the early coliseums (69-96 AD).

Yesterday’s Journal entry gave a few specifics concerning the Roman Coliseum and the activities that were practiced. The very seating capacity and tiers of seating are very much like today’s arenas (as they are now called). The coliseum was a place of much feasting, drinking and loud thunderous applause and yelling. The cruelty, blood and gladiator grandeur was considered sport especially if certain people were part of what was being killed along with animals for the entertainment of the audience. The spirit of the coliseum was/is fierce, violent, and often crippling, if not deadly, to the participants.

I was raised liking and participating in sports. Along with my brothers…we were all athletes. But sports have changed like many things into something more than what they were intended to be. The biggest change is the money involved for the athletes. I recently read of the probability of a billion dollar contract for a player (there is already a 765 million dollar plus contact). And what has obviously followed the salary dollar is the legalization of Online betting on every sport… another billions of dollars affair. It is more than sports… it is big, crazy, nasty business.

This coliseum spirit spills out in many directions. ‘A jersey that was worn by Michael Jordon in a game just sold at auction for 4.63 million dollars… (November 2024). The cost of clothing is going up. I think it was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) former president who said, “There probably should not be any NFL football on Thursday Nights.” No, really, he did say that.

“You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.” Jesus