How Many Wins Will Please The Fans?

The AP Top 25 rankings for College football were released earlier this week, with Texas taking the top spot in the preseason poll for the first time in the school's history.

Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia round out the top 5, with a total of 10 schools from the SEC making the list.

Countless fan bases are bummed their favorite program isn't ranked in the top 25 right now, but still have hope they will be among the best teams once we get into the season.

Of all the sports, college football fans are among the most passionate. That's not surprising, considering they play a significant role in recruiting, as well as the firing of coaches, and in creating a home-field advantage and atmosphere that impacts the perception of a program.

Many fans are also boosters and contribute financially to NIL, which increases their impact.

Because of this influence, the players, coaches, and administrations have pressure to keep fans happy. When we aren't happy, we are very vocal about it.

Heading into another season, each fan base has expectations for how many games its team should win. If we're honest, many fans are unrealistic, and their standards are out of whack. Some think their team should be as good as they were in previous years or even decades ago.

As we look across the country at various programs, several coaches recognize that they must win a certain number of games this season to keep fans happy and ultimately secure their jobs.

Oklahoma is coming off a 6-7 season, and head coach Brent Venables probably needs to lead his team to 8 or 9 wins this year to satisfy the fan base.

Auburn fans are die-hard and expect to be competitive in the SEC, so how many wins will keep them happy? Hugh Freeze's team needs at least eight wins to live up to Auburn's standard.

Down in Florida, Billy Napier's team is coming off an 8-5 season, so fans won't be happy unless they win more than that this season.

Of course, Alabama fans are only happy if they win a National Championship, so last year's 9-4 finish won't cut it again in Kalen DeBoer's second season.

There is no denying the influence fans have on college football programs and how teams are pressured and expected to win enough to please the fans. (They care about us, or maybe they don't want to listen to us whine!)

The reality is that teams can never really win enough, can they? Even schools with recent championship wins won't please their fans unless they win the next one. Let's face it, even teams that win a ton of games but don't win by a large enough margin also hear about it from their fans.

Yes, fans have a voice, but ultimately, when those players step on the field each Saturday in the fall, I hope their purpose in playing isn't just about pleasing the fans and gaining their approval.

In our own lives, we also face a daily battle over whether we are seeking the approval and applause of others.

Is our motivation to please others? Do we feel the pressure to do whatever is necessary to keep people happy and live up to the expectations and unrealistic standards they place on us? How much do we listen to the negative criticism and questioning that others have toward us?

While we'll never please everyone (no matter how hard we try), as followers of Jesus, we should be living for a much greater purpose than to gain the approval of people and cater to their demands or out-of-whack standards.

Our mindset ought to be that of the apostle Paul when he says in Galatians 1:10 (NLT), "Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant."

Paul writes this about his ministry approach in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT): "For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts."

The ESV translates Galatians 1:10 into these questions: "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

How do we answer that question today? What are our motivations and desires? What does our life reveal about who we're trying to please?

Just like it's a futile goal for college football players to try to please rabid and never-satisfied fans like us, it's also not worth living our lives trying to please anyone more than God.

He is the One we live for as we respond to His extravagant love and grace for us. We do it without pressure or obligation, but rather with freedom and gratitude, and in a way that brings glory to God.

I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me stop worrying so much about what other people think or say about me. I desire to please You above all else. I want to be Christ's servant and live a life that points people to You. Thank you for Your extravagant grace and love. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.