The Wide World of Sports

The Rainbow Man

   

     I receive thousands of  compliments daily about the eclectic nature of this blog, but lately complaints have poured in from readers who have noted my lack of coverage of SPORTS.  One perceptive critic opined that, apart from my fleeting reference to ‘Tex Cobb’, there has been nothing much about the sweaty subjects, even though I have sometimes mentioned the perhaps less worthy one of religion (he (she) then went on to criticize me for being uniformly negative about whatever cult I was discussing).  This post allows me to combine scripture and sports which should be almost as good, rankings-wise, as mentioning Lincoln and dogs (or cats).

     The fact that the title refers to an ABC television program about sports which ended before this century began, should indicate to you that I have not been keeping up. My interest in watching sports, waned even more quickly than my ability to participate in them. Once the players started moving around, and then the teams (not usually in the same direction), to play in stadiums with confusing corporate names which were full of fans who  responded only to signs saying, “Make Some Noise”, the free t-shirts and the thumping of organ music, I became much less enthusiastic. With ‘amateur’ sports, my interest was sustained a little longer, but then the players began leaving after one year of university, the bowls and college playing fields became corporate brands, teams from Utah moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference  and finally, ‘Whoa, Nellie’, Keith Jackson died.

Rollen Stewart

    Admittedly,  it is odd that rather than considering truly interesting old-timey sports subjects or personalities ( the Millrose Games, the Wanamaker Mile, the Penn Relays, Evel Knievel, Gorgeous George, Yogi Berra), I ended up choosing Stewart who, you have guessed, is the “Rainbow Man.”

    Surely you remember him and JOHN 3:16, which was Rollen’s way of letting you know that: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Gospel would be displayed by him behind the goal post at a Jet’s game on Sunday, and then again on Monday in Seattle. It truly was miraculous.

The Pathetic Proselytizer


    Now that I have reminded you of this “Jesus Freak” and you know his name, my job is done since you can easily learn more about him. I will even help by providing sources below. I will just say that the story does not end well. In 1992, he held a hostage in a California motel, for reasons that are confusing to me and probably were for him - it had something to do with “rapture”. He remains in prison.

Sources:
     The usual ones can be consulted; there are Wikipedia entries for “Rainbow Man” and Rollen Stewart.
    More devoted fans should see this very good video (10 minutes): “A Colorful Testimony” by Caleb Crouch, Aug. 30, 2006.
    For a good piece last year see: “The Unbelievable Life of the 'John 3:16' Sports Guy,”
by Jake Rossen, MentalFloss.com,  August 18, 2017
    There are two stories by Cecil Adams on Straightdope.com (“Fighting Ignorance Since 1973”): 1) This question is answered back in 1987 - “What’s with those “John 3:16” signs that people hold up at football games?” 2) Ten years later there is a follow-up and this one answers the question -  “Is the guy who held up those “John 3:16” signs at sports events in jail for life?”

Post Script:
    The usual bonus stuff:
   As I write this, there is a Royal Wedding happening and Rollen showed up at an earlier one involving Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
   I do still watch one sport - golf - and have seen 3:16 signs. At the 1990 Masters, the Rainbow Man set off a remote-controlled air horn as Jack Nicklaus was swinging.
  If you wish to see scripture at your sporting events, you can likely see 3:16 displayed over in Binghamton, where Tim Tebow is playing Double-A ball with the Rumble Ponies. Clearly all his prayers have not been answered.



 Some Canadian content: Apparently Bill King, a Canadian, is supported by an evangelical organization to attend sporting events and display John 3:16



Now you know.

P.S.
I remain confused about sporting events. Although all the ice has melted, two of the teams still playing for the Stanley Cup are located in Tampa Bay and Las Vegas.