Managing the Crowd Noise

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Live sporting events have a phenomenal energy about them.  The music is blaring. The crowds are rowdy. People are laughing and screaming. You are high-fiving and hand-slapping people you don’t know (and hopefully washing your hands soon afterward).  Being an active spectator or fan can influence and sway the outcome of a game. 

Last week I attended the best professional basketball game I ever have.  It was a well-matched game between the home team Washington Wizards and visiting Toronto Raptors. Toronto, truthfully a better team, started off strong in the first half - displaying offensive and defensive prowess. Stop, set, shoot – score two and three points. On the other end, they blocked shots to prevent baskets, got rebounds, and scored on fast breaks. They were literally running circles around the Wizards, and at first it looked like it would be a long night for us Wizards fans. The words: little league, junior high school, and scrimmage were being thrown around freely. The arena was lethargic – not responding to the announcer or the cheerleaders.  More people were going to the concession stands than were sitting in the stands (here’s looking at you couple who kept getting up in my row). 

Thankfully, there was half-time, and the Wizards came to life – outscoring Toronto to take the lead for the first time in the 3rd Quarter.  The 4th Quarter brought a series of lead changes; both teams were going deep onto the bench. The Wizards pulled ahead, but Toronto fought back. The game would go down to the wire. There were 4.4 seconds left on the game clock.  The Wizards were up by two, and all they had to do was inbound the ball and run out the clock. The ball was in-bounded, but the Wizards player lost it to the best player on Toronto’s team – fouling him in the process. The crowd groaned.  This dude had not faltered all night. The sentiment: no way he would miss the free-throws. Over-time seemed inevitable.

Three seconds left on the game clock. He went to the foul line. The signs started flashing to prompt the audience, “Make some noise!”  The crowd stood to our feet, waved signs, and chanted: “Go home!” “You suck!” “Loser!” “Get out of here!” He shot and missed the first free throw, failing to tie the game to go into overtime.  Wizards win. The crowd goes wild!

He was the best player on the court that night and displayed poise and confidence the entire game. But, the crowd noise rattled him. Some would say, he got “shook.”

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When everything is on the line, it matters what our crowd, posse, or crew is saying to us.  We all have an opponent, an adversary, and an enemy to defeat, and many other battles to face. Through it all, we must learn to manage the noise of the crowd, which can both help or hinder us depending on the circumstance. Our crowds may be full of well-meaning people, who are often those closest to us. They can also inadvertently be distractors and detractors. With disapproving looks, “Girl, I wouldn't do that" or “Man, why do you want to apply for that job? You have it good where you are.  I’d stay right there if I were you.”

I don’t care how good we are, if we hear enough times that we cannot achieve something or do something, we too will eventually buy into the negativity. That’s why it’s important to keep a mix of people around us, who will help and encourage us.  It makes a difference to have people tell you, "You can do this. You will not fail. You have the victory. I believe in you. I know you can make it. You are awesome!”

We also need to make sure that those around us are telling us the truth.  None of us is great in every area, and “Yes Men” can be just as or even more destructive than naysayers. Your social media crowds may be busy giving you thumbs up and hearts, when you post something crazy, but watch yourself!

Then, there are those moments, when we need to shut down all the crowd noise and go off by ourselves to pray as Jesus did in Matthew 14:22-23. To gain our victory (healing, deliverance, or resurrection), we need to hear one voice: the voice of the Lord.   In Matthew 9:23-25, Jesus had to literally put the noisy crowd out, so the girl would come back to life.

People will sing your praises today and sink your ship tomorrow. Sometimes, it’s within the same hour – like with the Wizards game. In the bible, the crowds and multitudes were notoriously fickle.  When Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the crowd waved branches and throwed down garments shouting: “Hosanna in the highest.” Then later, many of those same people would say, “Crucify Him.”

Learn when to listen to the crowd, and when to tune them out.  It matters what our crowd is saying, but it matters MORE what the Lord is saying. Your victory depends on it.

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©2018 by Antoinette V. Barber