Jerry Falwell Was a Sports Fan

I'm not sure how to react to Jerry Falwell's death. I think that Falwell had a largely negative effect on religious and political discourse in the United States. I won't get into that right now. Instead, I'll say this: I can appreciate Jerry Falwell as a sports fan. While I disagree with Liberty University's ethos, I respect their athletic programs. I'm impressed that Liberty, the school Falwell founded in 1971, has held its own in Division I, mid-major sports, despite its unusually strict code of conduct. Falwell oversaw the school's move from NAIA to Division I, made sure the school had top-flight sports facilities, and, according to former Liberty athletic director Chuck Burch wanted Liberty "to be for the evangelical kids what Notre Dame was for the Catholics."

Falwell valued sports as a means of evangelism. ("Sports and music are the two platforms that can reach youth," he said in a 2006 interview with ESPN.com. "They may not know Billy Graham, but they know Michael Jordan.") But he was also a former basketball and football player who loved to watch sports. "I love all sports," Falwell told ESPN.com in 2006. "Basketball, football, baseball, track ... I'm here for everything. I can't travel on the road with them, but I'm here for the home games." And the reverend loved and supported women's sports as much as men's.

There you go. I didn't like Jerry Falwell the public figure, but I can appreciate Jerry Falwell the sports fan.