Striving for Perfection?

For those of you who have watched the movie "Remember the Titans" (one of my favorites... but I am biased) there is a scene during halftime of the Championship game, where one of the team leaders, Julius gives a speech. Coach Boone who normally demands perfection from his team, is dejected, feeling like he has been too harsh, and tells his team at halftime, that they are trying their best, and that its good enough. Then Julius says (paraphrasing), "with all due respect coach, it ain't alright. You demand perfection from us. Now, I know we aren't perfect, I'll never be perfect. But we've won every game up till now so this TEAM is perfect. And if its the same to you coach, we want to keep it that way". They go on to win in spectacular fashion and stay perfect. That got me to thinking, what is it that makes sports such a captivating force? Is it simply that we get to relax and get away from our troubles? Surely that isn't it because some fanatics get more stressed out from watching their teams play than relax. I can personally attest to this by the way. Some get downright depressed (poor Lions fans). What is it about sports that makes us so invested and interested? When we see a pitcher at the bottom of the ninth, needing one more out to attain that perfect game... now say in a world series clinching game 7. It doesn't get more captivating than that. Or watching your alma matter go undefeated and beat another undefeated for a national championship. Those moments and events captivate people in a way that very few other moments can. Perhaps.. and its just my theory... it is because we are allowed to be a part of something bigger. An event that has defined pinnacles and achievement. Where the term perfection can actually be achieved in a tangible way. The pitcher may not be perfect, the pitches may have not been perfect... perhaps he caught a break or two. But within the rules and confines of the game, that pitcher is trying to achieve perfection... the pinnacle of sports. Championships symbolize the pinnacle of sports, and as fans, the more invested we are, the more we feel like we are part of that journey and that we get to have a piece of perfection. An average Joe with a dis-satisfactory job, a boring life can root for their home team, and when they win a championship, it is momentary euphoria... having reached the pinnacle together. To me, it is evidence that we are drawn toward perfection, drawn towards something greater, something higher... something to quench and satisfy. Because many of us, when we examine our lives... at some point or another, we are painfully aware that something is missing, that we dont measure up, that we are somehow depraved. We can convince ourself that we aren't through materials, relations, logic, knowledge, etc... you fill in the blank. but eventually we become aware at some point. And so we are captivated by the thought of perfection. There must be more than this! Such a depressing thought in it of itself, but may times, this is also the basis for salvation. The awareness of depravity and more importantly, sin... and the need for redemption... the filling of that which we lack... but cant quite put a finger on.