My first sports memory is of "The Shot" - Christian Laettner's turnaround jumper at the buzzer to push Duke past Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA tournament. As a 12-year-old, I remember watching that game, fixated on the scene, mesmirized by the spectacle, unable to move my eyes from the screen until the shot went through the net.
It was years later before I ever saw the reaction of the Duke players because I was too busy reacting myself. Screaming, I ran up and down the hallway in my house, amazed, enthralled and in love with what I had just seen. I was a Duke fan and I would be every day since.
I can't remember why I was a Duke fan that day. Maybe, it was the color, but UK's blue is fairly similar. Maybe, it was the fact that they were the defending national champions, but I've never been a bandwagon fan.
For what ever reason, I was a Duke fan before that magical shot left Laettner's hands and I've been one for 20 years through the large number of ups, including the most recent famous Duke game winner by Austin Rivers, and the rare moments of down, including being in the building for the historic loss to Lehigh.
During those two decades of fandom, I faced a similar question twice. "How do you, as a Christian, pull for a team called the Devils?"
I want to answer the question in two separate ways: first, as a Christian sports fan living in America, and second, recognizing the impact removing a different culture would have on my initial answer.
Initially, you have to look at the idea of mascots in general. The whole concept comes from France, where certain symbols supposedly brought luck to households. So, taken to the root, there lies some contradiction with Christianity and mascots. Since those early days, however, mascot have come to simply be a symbol of the team and not necessarily associated with a belief in luck (though numerous fans, non-Christians and Christians are extremely superstitious in regards to their sports teams).
When Duke's mascot is considered specifically, history can also shed some light on the subject. The Methodists who began Duke University were not anti-religious or pro-demonic. The student newspapers decided to use the color scheme as part of the mascot name, so the narrowed down choices included: Blue Devils, Blue Titans, Blue Eagles and Royal Blazes.
Eventually, the newspapers chose the Blue Devils, which was the nickname of the World War I elite French mountain infantry. Honestly, I may have a bigger problem with my team being named after the French military, than the Devil. Regardless, the name stuck and later became the official school mascot name. (Here's the official Duke University mascot history.)
Numerous teams have mascots that are the Devils, the Demons, the Angels, etc. In America, those mascots are simply part of the identity of the team. If you are a Chicago Cubs fan, you don't cheer for a live bear cub to escape the zoo and maul someone on the street. Would early Christians find it strange that people would cheer for the Detroit Lions, since they were fed to lions in the Roman Colosseum? Do fans of the Tennessee Titans believe in ancient Greek deities? The mascot is more connected to the team, than the physical, historical or fictional entity.
This could change, however, in a different culture. In sports knowledgeable (obsessed) America, people recognize the Blue Devils as being connected to Duke. That may not be the case in other countries and was a big reason why I did not wear any of my Blue Devil apparel overseas. I did not know how people would react to seeing the cartoon face of a devil on my shirt, not having the context of American sports, so those shirts stayed in my closet.
One of my friends went overseas to a predominately Muslim country. He has been a Duke fan, like me, for as long as he can remember. Before he left, however, he gave me all of his clothes that had "Blue Devils" on them. He did not want that to be a stumbling block for the Gospel or to cause a misunderstanding with those he would come in contact.
So, while I would be careful in my choice of clothing overseas, I see nothing wrong with being a Christian and cheering for a team whose mascot is a devil.
So, why am I a Blue Devil fan? Blame it on Laettner. Blame it on the Methodists. Blame it on the color blue. Blame it on a brave group of French soldiers. Blame it on the veterans that dominated the Duke campus during the mascot selection. Whatever you do, just don't assume that the mascot of my favorite sports team dictates my religious beliefs.
After all, it could be worse. I could cheer for a strange-looking ram named after sticky feet. Go Duke!
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