It has been said that in America, football is a religion, played before hordes of faithful zealots in modern cathedrals.  That may be a stretch, but there’s little doubt that the sport is filled with religious players and coaches, most of them devout Christians.  Never has this phenomenon been more apparent than this year’s college football playoffs and the quarterbacks of the four schools that advanced to the national semifinals.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, winner of the Heisman Trophy as the best college player in the land, is a Catholic who wears his faith on his crimson sleeve.  After his Hoosiers demolished Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Mendoza said, ‘My team and I want to give all the glory to God.’

Oregon QB Dante Moore often leads his team in prayer and said this after shutting out Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl: ‘We’re big into faith and big into Christian life, so thank God for everything.’  He cut his post-game interview short so he could kneel and pray with one of his teammates.

The University of Miami’s signal-caller is Carson Beck, who overcame injuries and doubters to lead his team over mighty Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.  ‘The biggest thing that God has taught me,’ he says, ‘is just to trust in Him and His plan.’  One of Beck’s many tattoos is the biblical phrase ‘Walk by Faith.’

Then there is Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, who made the unlikely jump from an obscure small college to the killing fields of the Southeastern Conference.  He prays with mom before each game and said this after his team took down heavily favored Georgia in the Sugar Bowl:  ‘Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  Through and through, he’s been with me.’ 

Religiosity in football is not limited to the college game.  One observer calculated that about 75% of NFL quarterbacks are evangelical Christians.  And it’s not just the guy taking the snaps - faith is prevalent at all positions and on both sides of the ball.  Sure, football has plenty of miscreants and criminals, but Christians far outnumber convicts.

One explanation is that football is especially popular in the South, aka The Bible Belt; there aren’t a whole lot of secular Manhattanites tossing the pigskin with their toddlers.  The sport is also especially attractive to conservatives, who tend to be more religious than those who line up on the left hash mark.  And it’s a violent game in which a knee can be snapped, a skull rattled, a career shattered at any moment.  That ever-present danger may inspire faith.  Just as it’s said that there are no atheists in foxholes, there are few non-believers at the line of scrimmage.

Whatever the reasons, the football field is a place where Christianity is abundant and where the faithful are not ashamed to proclaim their devotion.  Whichever team wins the college national championship, its players and coaches will be pointing their fingers toward the heavens and giving thanks.  Some Americans object to these overt displays of faith, but it certainly seems preferable to self-aggrandizing boastfulness.  Would you rather have your kids see their idols thanking a higher power or giving all glory to themselves?  The question answers itself.

While we don’t have a favorite college team, we do hope and pray that the championship game ends in a very dramatic and most appropriate fashion.  With a Hail Mary pass, of course.