Angels in the
Outfield (1994) is a lovely Disney film about a young orphan boy named Roger who prays to Heaven that his
favourite team, the California Angels, will come up from last place
after his father sarcastically tells him that they will become a
family again when the Angels win the pennant. As a young hopeful boy,
he believes him and begins to pray for his team in hopes that his
faith will bring his team to victory, and his family back together
again.
As
a film that mixes Christian faith and sports, I feel that this is an
interesting movie to discuss with regards to the convergence of
religion and
sports.
Religion and
Sports within the Film
Right from the
start of the film, the themes of faith and Catholicism becomes a
major theme. In fact, the first line of the movie, said by PJ
(Roger's orphan friend) is, “Roger, do you believe in heaven?”
With Roger responding “I guess...”. As the film progresses,
religious themes become more intermingled with sports when Roger
prays that his favourite team will win the championship, not only
because of his father's commitment, but because they are his
favourite team. By praying for his sports team, Roger represents an
entire society of sports fans. These individuals are strongly
connected to their favourite teams and they use their faith and
spirituality to support their teams. The ritual of prayer is a very
spiritual act in the Christian community. This film demonstrates that
sports have become so important to people that the spiritual actions
are being used for non-tradition intentions.
Religious
function in Sports
This film also puts forth the idea of sports emulating the social
function of religion. At the beginning of the film, Roger is a lonely
young boy without a family, and he relies on sports to provide him
with some sort of belonging. As the film progresses, and his gift of
seeing Angels becomes known by the coach and the team, Roger is
welcome by the California Angels and they treat as though he is a
part of the team. To take this idea of community and family even
further, the coach of the California Angels adopts Roger, making the
theme of family and collectivity even clearer. This literal
community-building in the film demonstrates the wider connection
individuals have with sports teams. Individuals feel they are a part
of the team, and the collective excitement, as Eric Bain-Selbo
explains, exudes a temporary notion of intense community [1].
I would argue
that this film demonstrates that sports and religion has developed an
interesting relationship, whereby sports has become such an important
component in many people's lives that religion and sports have become
equal. Interestingly enough, religion has accepted this correlation
and association. Society is mixing religious rituals with sports,
while sports have begun to take on many of the functions of religion.
[1] Bain-Selbo,
Eric.“Ecstasy, Joy, and Sorrow: The Religious Experience of
Southern College Football.” Journal of Religion and Popular
Culture 20 (2008), 13p
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