I think the wheels first came off when we started thanking Jesus for helping us win the game and score the goal. That this all-knowing deity – whatever you call it – has a vested interest in our own personal triumph for some reason. Maybe it’s because you pray more than average, or at least, more than your opponent does.
That sentiment sounds awesome in a Biblical sense but isn’t logical in a logical sense. The notion that God somehow favours you fully undermines the whole neutrality argument not to mention the morality quandary it raises when it appears that your God is banking on you to win for some reason. And why – by extension – would he/she/it not want your opponent to win?
What makes you special?
Divine intervention in sports, by this definition, is a zero-sum game. For you to win, somebody has to lose, which means you’re favoured by your deity for some reason. Perhaps you pray more or maybe your opponent isn’t as sincere in his prayer as you or maybe it’s one of those first come, first served sort of things where your opponent simply doesn’t get to his message to his saviour early enough.
Either way he’s not getting the same religious assistance you are which makes prayer, in this example, absolutely useless.
Truth be told, thanking God for a win isn’t humility. It’s a disguised elevation. You’re not lowering yourself; you’re implying there’s a selection process and you were the one selected which is a subtle inversion that’s rarely called out.
Until now.
It may sound like humility but functions more like exclusivity.
Unless this is more than a prayer circle sort of thing. The one where opponents gather for a community prayer, where God is asked to protect everyone on the field. Everyone. Safe passage for all with no intended final score and no favoured nation.
It says nothing about winning and losing and therefore aligns strongly with traditional divine principles where the only rule is for us to get along regardless of the stakes involved.
That makes sense. It’s logical and very communal, in fact.
That this practice only happens before or after the game is also significant. Significant because it renders the outcome of the games completely unimportant. These pre-game prayers simply ask that all participants make it through the game safely, or with post-game prayers where we’re thankful that we did indeed make it through unscathed. That kind of thinking I can get behind.
But that’s not what our example is.
This practice is trivialization of the divine, citing religion when needed while sidestepping its misuse when the rules don’t apply.
If God influences outcomes what’s the benchmark? What parts does he monitor and what stuff does he stay away from?
Like third-down conversions. Are they his jurisdiction? How about deflected shots? Breakaways? If God only handles the big stuff like wins and losses, then the pre-game prayer is rendered meaningless. Not only does game prayer in this light lack veracity but also any semblance of sense.
I mean who decides the stuff he controls? If he gets credit for the win he’s also on the hook for the loss.
That’s your logic, not mine.
My argument may seem overwrought and silly but not when you extrapolate the thought process of thanking God for the win to its next stage.
It picks a side and validates victory. A God that endorsed “us” over “them.” The problem comes when it leaves the world of sports and spreads to something much bigger and more dire.
When you align an outcome with the divine, you’re offering up both a permission structure and absolution from responsibility. It allows you to excuse things that shouldn’t be excused.
For that, think beyond sports.
If God can help you beat the other team – because “He was with us that day” – what prevents anyone from extending that logic into a war? If God sides with you and has your back in something as trivial as a football game, why would he leave your side when the stakes are higher?
This logic becomes a blank cheque for holy war.
It’s basically saying that God chooses a side, as evidenced by you winning that football game, so naturally he has your back whenever it’s needed, because you’re chosen and all.
It doesn’t take long for this to become very dangerous, especially when you’re up against someone who has a winning God of his own.
God can’t play for both teams. That’s not how this is done. Yet the practice of Hail Mary victory thank you ceremonies runs as smoothly as ever. Rightfully perceived as innocuous but fully reckless on an ethical level.
It’s just a game – until it isn’t – but the flawed logic doesn’t know the difference. That works on every level. As long as you don’t think it through. And when you think it through, you’ll realize this isn’t harmless after all.
And by calling it “harmless” we mean to end the conversation when it really should force us to start another.