Football: pray to win or what?

[Exporter]

Today the Local News Paper has a very long article on Religion and Sports.

Over the years some remarkable things have happened when a player or a team has prayed. The Buffalo Bills overcame a 32 point deficit over the Houston Oilers.The then Buffalo Quarterback Frank Reich is now the director of a Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C.

I am concerned about prayer before the game. I have heard many pre-game prayers. One that stands out ocurred about 40 years ago. I had a H.S. football team who had lost the first two games on the road playing about 100 miles from home.When we got on a knee I pointed to our biggest. A redheaded kid who I knew was a Baptist to lead the prayer.

He went through the usual prayer: praying for no injuries, and that the game would give God the Glory. Then he ended with," And God if You could just help us knock the fire out of them, we’d thank you!" We won 7 to 0. And going home on the bus he got his Baptist buddies to sing with him. They sang some old-time Protestant song. I smiled.

What are your thoughts? Should we pray, what should we pray for? Does God care? Should we say thanks for a loss? Should we just pray for wisdom? What have you done or seen?

P.S. I saw a priest giving the pre-game prayer in the Notre Dame locker room. It was very short. He ended with, “Our Lady of Victory…be with us!”

 

[Sir_Knight]

We should pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Unless we have a personal stake in the game (and I don’t mean money reasons because we placed a bet), I think it is inappropriate to pray for such things.

That, however, is merely my opinion and others are free to disagree with it.

 

[lizziebeth730]

But define personal stake.

I am a die hard Red Sox fan. I live in MA, and New England lives and breathes for its team. After Game 7 of the ALCS in NYC (which I was at) I literally felt like someone I knew died. Boston was practically on suicide watch, and I’m fairly certain Grady Little had to hire armed guards to protect him from us killing him (because if Grady Little and I were in a room alone together, one of would be walking out covered in blood, and the other would come out in a body bag, and I don’t think any jury in Boston would have convicted me… PEDRO IS GOOD FOR 7 INNINGS OR 100 PITCHES FERCRYINGOUTLOUD!! Why leave him in for the 8th???) I pray every year around this time that we win the World Series. I even said a ton of rosaries asking for us to at least clinch the wild card this season so we have a chance for the pennant run.
I don’t think God really gives a rats patootie who wins the Series, but I know that I would be eternally thankful that they win this year, or sometime in my life span.

 

[Sir_Knight]

lizziebeth730:

But define personal stake …

You or a family member or a close friend is on the team. Then the loss has a direct impact on you or someone close to you.

A few weeks back there was another discussion on this board and drifted from it’s original topic and the general concensus was that God answers prayers for things we NEED and not so much for things that we WANT.

I can’t find it now because I’m connected at 28.8k and need to get to bed within the next ten minutes for tomorrow.

Do you NEED the team to win the game? If you’re spouse is on the team and losing might effect his income and therefore his ability to provide for his family, then you NEED for that team to win that game.

Or do you WANT the team to win? There in lies the difference.

 

[Exporter]

Sir Knight, Yours is a worthy distinction. Actually I had been thinking just that but had not put it into words.

So, if your son is a head H.S. football coach, for 7 years as of now, and it is certainly true that if his team doesn’t win their share of games…down here he would be replaced. He would loose a significan amount of salary. This game is treated as life and death.
So may I pray for the team to eliminate mistakes and play to it’s full potential: being cognazant of the fact that a job rests on outcomes?