Notre Dame Women's Basketball coach credits prayers of Catholics in championship games. Is this a good thing?

[RandomAlias]

University of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball coach Muffet McGraw, speaking last Friday about the last-second shot that secured their win in the semifinal game in overtime, said:

“I probably should thank every Catholic from coast to coast for all the prayers on Good Friday at the end of that game.”

And similarly, after winning the championship on Sunday, by another last-second “miracle” shot, she said:

“I was thinking, two nights in a row, I don’t know if this is gonna happen again, the miracle, but it is Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics out there were praying for us, and [we] definitely needed it all.”

On one hand, I think it might be a good thing that she publicly mentioned Catholics and prayer and the holy days, but on the other hand I think it odd, and maybe superstitious, that she would suggest that many Catholics are praying for Notre Dame’s athletic success when most Catholics probably pray for more needful intentions.

What do you think?

 

[brian_custer]

i was going to post a thread about this;

but the “mods” have got me on the “watch list”

I viewed the whole game; “AMAZING” victory

 

[brian_custer]

this youtube may be a little longer than the average attention span here

but nonetheless;

 

[RandomAlias]

i was absouletely going to post a thread about this

Great minds think alike.

I missed the semifinal game on Friday, but watched most of the championship game tonight. Notre Dame made a fantastic comeback, the last minutes were tense, and the winning shot was a thing of beauty.

If you have any thoughts on Coach McGraw’s remarks on prayer, I would be glad to hear them.

 

[pianistclare]

I think it’s wonderful that she is not ashamed or so politically correct she won’t give prayer its’ due.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I know a lot of Catholics who both cheer and pray for Notre Dame.

I know a lot of Catholics and Protestants who pray for their favorite sports team to win important games. The number of Catholic institutions around Philadelphia praying for an Eagles victory in the Super Bowl was huge. The Protestant churches such as Lutheran and Episcopal were doing the same, based on their lawn signs.

Seems like maybe your issue with this is that you yourself don’t see prayer for this intention as important. Some other people do. Also, it’s always good for a sports team or sports figure to give glory to God and credit prayer, whether they are doing it from a Catholic perspective or a Christian Protestant perspective. Many people in society just pooh pooh the whole idea of God and prayer, so mentioning these subjects in public in a positive way, and associated with something like sports that people find glamorous, positive and enjoyable, is very welcome.

 

[EricF]

Now if Villanova will get it done in tonight’s men’s championship, us sports-loving Catholics will have had quite the weekend!

 

[exnihilo]

I think we have to be careful with how we link God to sports. It is the case that God cares about everything, so even things we may think are trivial He cares about. Also, God works His plan through all the small details of our lives. So sports is part of God’s plan.

But, if we aren’t careful displays of faith around sports can actually turn people off. I think praying before a game that everyone avoids injury is great. I think praying afterwards is great. I think praying to win or do well is great. We should pray for everything, but also pray that God’s will be done, whatever that is. I think saying God wanted me to make that basket or win is probably going to turn off some people.

Most importantly, if I was going to root for a Catholic team I’d root for a team from a school that actually does promote the Catholic Faith. That excludes pretty much any team you see on TV.

 

[Erikaspirit16]

I watched the game, and I also watched the two previous games ND played.

It was clear to me that Muffet was saying that tongue in cheek. It was a JOKE, folks! Lighten up!

On the other hand, if you were placing bets, and you bet that the same player would sink the same game-winning shot from the same place in two successive games, I think the bookies would have given you 1 billion to 1 or something like that. It WAS a miracle in the commonly used meaning of the word.

 

[laylow]

I would prefer that the prayers help the poor kid that starves to death every 5 seconds.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I think saying God wanted me to make that basket or win is probably going to turn off some people.

Mentioning God in any way, shape or form is going to “turn off some people”. We can’t be constantly policing what we non-blasphemously say about God just because “some people” might be bothered, or else we’d never mention Him at all. And many people don’t mention Him, for that very reason…fear of upsetting somebody.

It’s fine to say “God wanted me to make that basket” as long as you’re also willing to accept the time, and there will be a time, when God doesn’t want you to make that basket.

 

[exnihilo]

I agree that just mentioning God will turn of some people. But I think many people, myself included, find it particularly irritating when people say God wanted me to make this basket or win. It is precisely because they almost never say God wanted me to not make this basket or lose.

I personally wouldn’t censor my speech to not offend non Christians. But I would also consider how it may be received.

 

[RandomAlias]

It was clear to me that Muffet was saying that tongue in cheek. It was a JOKE, folks! Lighten up!

That’s your interpretation, but I think she is serious. As @Tis_Bearself wrote, many Christians and Catholics pray for their teams, and Coach McGraw must be aware of that. I don’t know her well, and it’s not my place to judge her faith – Is she convinced? Is she doubtful? Not my place – but clearly she is thinking about the power of prayer, and talking about it in a way that may expose her to criticism or even ridicule. If she were just joking about it, without some kind of faith to back it up, it would be a mockery of Catholicism and an insult to the faithful. I don’t think she would do that.

I hope she has opportunities in the future to speak again and more clearly about her faith… or perhaps she already has and I have overlooked it. (I searched the Internet but did not find more on it.)

 

[GUYMAN]

I would never say that God cares who wins a sporting event. But I think we should lighten up, enjoy the victory, and be glad she mentioned Catholics, prayer, etc…

 

[Lea101]

I tend to think that too, but at the same time I would then wonder if God would prefer me to do well in an exam (where grades are moderated based on everyone’s performance), whether God would want me to have that job over someone else and so on.

 

[yankeesouth]

I think it’s great what she said but I am also reminded of an old catcher named Birdie Tebbetts who when the batter made the Sign of the Cross called time, stepped in front of the plate and also made the Sign of the Cross. Then he said ‘okay we’re all even with God, let’s see who the better man is’.

 

[GUYMAN]

I heartily agree!

 

[Ardent_Fire]

I think it’s possible that the delivery was lighthearted but maybe she was trying to express some faith as well. Sometimes people can say things and it’s light in nature but there’s a meaningful undertone, too.

I think the only reservation I have when it comes to praying in sports for victory comes back to the age old question of explaining unanswered prayers when teams don’t win, or this idea that God roots for one team over another. And in the context of it, there are more important things to concern ourselves with and pray for. All that said, I can appreciate her small expressions of faith in the public life all the same.

 

[Erikaspirit16]

That’s your interpretation, but I think she is serious.

Did you watch the interview on TV?

 

[RandomAlias]

Yes. It was not a solemn and carefully-worded declaration of faith, but I think @Ardent_Fire is on to something here:

I think it’s possible that the delivery was lighthearted but maybe she was trying to express some faith as well. Sometimes people can say things and it’s light in nature but there’s a meaningful undertone, too.