If God isn’t a Penn State Fan…
…than why is the sky blue and white?
*snicker*
I saw that on a bumper sticker once, and it made me laugh. I’m an avid Penn State fan, and after that game tonight, I think that my last post makes even more sense–State fans really need faith right about now!
All joking aside, what I really wanted to talk about is religion’s place in sports. Tonight, I saw a Catholic player cross himself before attempting a field goal. Another common site is a team kneeling together in prayer. And when a player wins an award? Many times, they thank God.
If you believe in the power of religion, I’m not sure it’s fair to ask for God’s help in winning a game, is it? And if you believe that prayer had no power to affect the game, then why are you doing it in the first place?
So here’s my advice for all you sports fans out there:
Don’t pray to win, or to make good plays, or to show up the other team, or to have the better coach.
Pray for a safe game for all players.
Pray for game that is called fairly.
Pray for an entertaining game that will keep fans cheering.
And for you Penn State fans out there, pray that Happy Valley will always be a happy valley, no matter how many quarterbacks we go through in a single game.

October 15th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
I, too, was watching that Penn State game and noticed the Michigan kicker crossing himself! When I see this the first thing that comes to my mind is Focus. Each player on the field has a story; each has gone through his own hardships to get where they are. This type of prayer can help reinforce our inner strength and help focus us on the task at hand.
Now - to seek some of that strength to make it through the rest of this season as a fan of the blue and white…
October 16th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I totally agree. praying for a victory is weird because both teams pray. If they both put enough thought into it someones feelings are going to get hurt. But every game i prayed; i prayed for safety, and that all my players keep their minds in the game. But i totally agree with you. Good insight.