Tonight the National Football League kicks off the 2008 season with a game between the Washington Redskins and the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands will be packed with fans sporting the jerseys of Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress, and the TV ratings will be off the charts.
And not a single Peruvian cares.
Oh, you'll have some expats in Peru (such as myself) who will thank Jesus tonight for DirecTV, but your average Peruvian wouldn't know the difference between Jason Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor.
However ... if you start to engage a Peruvian in a conversation about La Alianza or Los Universitarios (a/k/a La Crema or La U) or Cienciano ... then you've hit a hot spot!
For those of you who don't know, those are three of the most popular football teams in Peru. Umm ... that'd also be known as soccer to those of you up there in the USA.
Sports is another way to ingratiate yourselves to the locals when you are doing international ministry. Look, I'm an NFL fan (Go Miami Dolphins! Go Ricky Williams!), and I always will be, and I do thank Jesus for DirecTV, but I also know that if we're going to have an impact here in Peru, then I'd better learn the names of some teams and players here.
Learn all you can about the most popular local sports and pastimes, wherever you are. Know the names of some teams and star players. Buy a jersey or a cap. Learn to play the sport. The last time we were in the Amazon jungle, we played soccer with members of the Yagua tribe on a scrubby little field in the community where they live on the banks of the Amazon River. They ate it up. So did we.
Knowing and playing the most popular local sports wherever you are can bridge gaps and build bridges in a lightning-fast manner.
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