Love Thy Rival: What Sports' Greatest Rivalries Teach Us About Loving Our Enemies [Paperback]

Chad Gibbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2012

What Sports' Greatest Rivalries Teach Us About Loving Our Enemies...

In his first book, the best-selling God & Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC, humorist Chad Gibbs explored his own struggles to balance faith in God with passion for pigskin. Now Gibbs is back asking how Christian fans can love their enemies, when we can't even love rival fans.

From the cross-country culture war of Lakers vs Celtics, to the cross-state hate-fest of Alabama vs Auburn, Gibbs spent one year attending the most intense rivalry games in sports (Yankees vs Red Sox, Duke vs Carolina, and many more), observing the darker side of fan culture, and pondering the problems rivalry games present to the Christian fan.

The result... Love Thy Rival, an enlightening, laugh-a-minute look at what sports? greatest rivalries teach us about one of Jesus' most difficult commands: Love your enemies.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chad Gibbs is the best-selling (okay, regional best-selling) author of God & Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC. He has written for the Washington Post, CNN.com, and RELEVANT, and has made multiple (okay, two) appearances on ESPN's Outside the Lines. Gibbs lives in Alabama with his wife and two dogs, Harper and Bob Vance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Blue Moon Books (August 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0985716509
• ISBN-13: 978-0985716509
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chad Gibbs found football at the age of 8, found God one year later, and has spent the rest of his life worshiping one of the two. His first book, "God and Football", is a laugh-out-loud look at the Southeastern Conference: the place where faith, football, and fanaticism meet. Chad and his wife currently reside in Birmingham, Alabama, with their dogs, Bob Vance and Harper.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lando Calrissian would be proud... August 29, 2012

By Smith1808

Format:Paperback

A wonderful, easy read - a quick romp around the world that is enjoyable for any sports fan. Chad takes his readers on a journey from one rivalary game to the next with Scotland for Soccer and the Army/Navy game mixed in between. Along the way Chad's quick wit and thought provoking writing keep you enthralled and hoping for more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Thy Neighbor, Thy Enemy, Really? November 5, 2012

By Fritz R. Ward TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Unfortunately, almost everyone in the United States is inoculated with small doses of Christianity from childhood. As a result, almost no one ever catches the real thing. Even our more sophisticated agnostics will repeat some of the classic Jesus teachings, like love thy enemy, but they don't believe it any more (or any less) than most fundamentalists of either the Christian or Atheist variety. Loving thy enemy is hard, especially when some of them seem to want to kill us, fire us, or just plain humiliate us in public. Worse yet, some people don't even see the virtues of our sports team and some even root for the rivals of our sports team. Love them? Really.

Well yes. And Chad Gibbs, author of the acclaimed book God and Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC sets out to discover how this can even be possible. An Auburn fan, how can he love Alabama and its fans. How do people from Kentucky and Louisville manage not to commit bodily harm to each other? (Answer: no marriages with the "other" side, as one of his correspondents seriously suggested.) He even attends a UK soccer (real football) match just to see what true violence and fanaticism looks like. And after that, he is reasonably convinced that at least in the US we don't go that far. Or do we? Who can forget Harvey Updike Jr. poisoning the trees outside the Auburn stadium? And yet, Gibbs notes, in the face of national tragedies, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the like, rival fans will sometimes come together to help each other. Boston fans even found themselves in sympathy with Yankee fans after 9/11, but that was pretty much a one off thing....

But why should it take tragedy to bring fans together, and why do so many fans go beyond friendly rivalry into outright hatred of opponents and rivals? Why do Christians, in particular, have such a difficult time loving their rivals when they are called to doing so much more. Gibbs provides a couple of answers to these questions. On the simplistic, but certainly honest, side of the equation, alcohol goes a long way towards impairing the judgment of otherwise reasonable people at a sporting event. Beyond that, however, Gibbs suggests that people make idols of their sports teams. Instead of taking joy in all that creation has to offer (including gifted athletes) they make their teams the object of their worship, and as a result shortchange themselves, their neighbors, rivals, and ultimately God.

This book, like its predecessor, is a thoughtful analysis of our relationship to sports and to faith. It follows the same format, visiting games involving various rivals, and includes extensive interviews covering how people feel. Some of these are absolute gems and are in and of themselves worth the price of the book. "If you see a towel on my head, it means Kentucky is playing Al Qaeda" explains Lance, who quickly adds that Al Qaeda can't handle Kentucky's full court press the way (he hopes) Louisville can. Gibbs's own off beat sense of humor also makes this an enjoyable read. Unlike many evangelical writers, I never feel Gibbs is trying to "convert" me. He is trying to make his readers think about issues we take for granted in a new light. And I appreciate his effort, although I do not fully understand it. After all, I am a Boise State fan and we have no equals. Therefore we have no rivals, and no one to hate. But I can understand why other fans, say of the Oregon Ducks, might benefit from this book. And everyone will enjoy it. Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, genuine and insightful May 3, 2013

By John Owen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

There's one major problem with Chad's book: it neglects to mention the USC/UCLA or the Cal/Stanford Big Game, which, as pretty much everybody knows, are the two greatest rivalries in college football. Well, everybody from the west coast, at least. But for an SEC fan, Chad actually seems like an okay dude, and he is a very funny writer. He is somebody I'd love to: A) sit down and have a drink with, and B) talk to in a meaningful way about faith. And that's a rare combination, indeed. I appreciate the fact that Chad doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but he's very earnest about sharing his questions. I think if more people of faith--not to mention sports fans--had his kind of humility, we'd all get along a lot better...in the stands, and in the pews. Definitely a worthwhile read!

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll love Love Thy Rival January 19, 2013

By ClayMorganPA

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Chad Gibbs is the type of author who could write about anything and make it interesting. But combine his quest for meaning with his love of sports and you get a winning combination. In Love Thy Rival Chad trots the globe in search of the greatest rivalries in sport, where they came from, and what they do to us. He explores the nature of true hate versus the hate of fandom to see what we can learn about loving our enemies, even if they root for the other team. Great read. Couldn't stop reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars It Was A Gift January 19, 2013

By Alice B. Goss

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was a gift but my family member said the book was good. Not sure why you have to be so wordy in something like this!

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me laughing... December 26, 2012

By Jason Cleghorn

Format:Paperback

Chad Gibbs is a funny funny man. He's also very knowledgeable about sports. But more importantly he's a man of faith that doesn't overwhelm you with his testimony, but provides enough to remain true to his beliefs. This is not a religious book. It's also not solely a sports book. That's why I couldn't put it down and read it almost in one setting. Excellent read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Mad Props to My Name Rival! October 30, 2012

By C. Jones

Format:Paperback

Chad Gibbs and I have something in common: we have the same first name. We also have a common love for all things Star Wars. Who can forget seeing Empire for the first time in a theatre? But I digress. He's a bit younger than me, and loves sports--something I've almost always had, if a not an outright dislike, but a casual disdain for. In his books--God and Football--and this new one, Love Thy Rival, young Mr. Gibbs does the impossible: he makes me feel like I'm missing something. Almost like Jesus walking on the water, Gibbs performs the miraculous, and makes me love sports!

Then he pulls the rug out from under me! And like Peter, I begin to sink. Because, as the title not so subtly suggests, we are to love our rivals! And as fun as the rivalries make the sports we love, there's no room for hate! In fact, Gibbs--with wit, wisdom, panache, and humor--makes me reevaluate both the things I love, and hate--makes me reevaluate my passions in light of the living God.

A God who doesn't play favorites, making the sun to shine, and the rain to fall, on both the just and unjust alike.

Bravo, Mr. Gibbs!