Presumptive by applying your perspective and interpretation of the worth of sport in bringing people to Christ. Applying scripture to your personal life is a worthy application and you teach us a good lesson in considering that application, but to extrapolate that in a context like this, to me seems a bit overzealous. Bringing people to Christ includes all things that help them attain his character traits - and sports have a littany of lessons to be taught. Hard work, team work, endurance, discipline, self reliance, dilligence, persistence, passion, drive, focus, self restraint, humilityy...many, many more...so presuming the Lord views sport as a distraction, I think is a very presumptive statement. Then consider how sports help us to connect with a common purpose to so many who we may not otherwise be able to connect. Families are central to the Lord's plan - how many families connect over sports? I can tell you, being baptized as a youth without a member family, and attending church on my own growing up, wth an agnostic father (now he is a Pagan), sports have played a role in helping us connect amidst many personal differences. Sports unequivically DO play a role in bringing families together. They play a role in bringing communities together. They play a role in bringing generations together and helping the young and the old develop many Christ-like attributes. 

So how football fits into it? Football is THE most popular sport in America. It is the sport that funds all other sports at most universities. It truly creates many, many connections, that may open peoples' minds to the gospel. Ask Ty Detmer what football meant for him in his conversion (and countless others - he's just one of the most obvious examples). Have a GOOD example of a unique university where kids can look up and root - helps countless thousands of them to be driven and engage in sports and learn the positive lessons that come from them.

Maybe for some people they don't get that from sports and they find it in drama or music or blogging or whatever....and that's OK...but for many, many people, sports do bring them closer to Christ in many ways.

Tangent: I say all the above and do not discount the bad that comes with sports - but that is the case with the internet, with books, with so many other things...we don't block out the things that bring good and positive things to this world just because they could also be used for evil, right? Part of our agency.

So perhaps your thoughts are not the Lord's thoughts on sports? Maybe he does look at sport as a tool to bring people to him. Have a great day Borg!