Faith and Football: Why They Are So Commonly Intertwined

Many football players over the years have attested
to the interconnectedness of their faith and their game

Athletics necessitates a wide range of skills, both physical and psychological. Physical skills important to sports may include general fitness in addition to specialized abilities. On the other hand, psychological skills imperative for athletes range from the ability to manage stress and focus to having confidence. In the intense, volatile world of football, where being tackled by a 300-pound man is commonplace, psychology has always played a unique role in the study of the game. Many football players over the last several decades have attested to having a degree of religious faith, ranging from talented ex-QB Terry Bradshaw to the freshly retired Ray Lewis. But how does religious faith exactly fit into their view of the game? Why do they need it?

Commenting on his recent Super Bowl win, Ray Lewis said, "it’s simple: when God is for you, who can be against you?" Here, Lewis is commenting on what he feels is the inherent importance in maintaining faith in a game where an incessant battle for possession of a ball is ensuing: faith brings resilience. When one imagines the game of professional football in the eyes of an athlete, a feeling of an almost "supernatural" resilience is an almost necessary factor in high performance and continued effort during difficult games. In addition to confidence--faith in oneself--religious faith intertwined with sport, especially football, seems to award the player who has it with an almost calming, reinforcing sense of being supported, of being chosen, of being powerful, and of being very resilient.

For ex-QB Terry Bradshaw, religion
was reinforcing

Other players over the years, like star ex-quarterback Terry Bradshaw, have believed that the path they were following through becoming involved in football was inherently chosen for them by a supreme deity. Bradshaw once said, "God has a calling for everyone. If you truly believe in your calling, no matter what it is, you can be a success." While Bradshaw was playing, then, did he feel a compelling, reinforcing feeling that he was indeed "responding" to his supreme calling and fulfilling the larger purpose in his life? It is likely, but something also of value is examining the reasons behind this type of thinking. Doubt is a powerful vehicle for weakness in modern day humans, and especially in sports it is important to maintain a rigid support for the sport and be without second-thoughts that could potentially undermine the focus that one brings to the field.

Nonetheless, there are still outliers in the world of football--among them, former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who made "Tebowing" famous--and those agnostics and atheists for whom the game has no supernatural connotations or relations. Last year, Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard explained that before a very important game, Tebow "came to me and said, 'Don’t worry about a thing,' because God has spoken to him." This implication of Tebow's personal conversation with God is unlike many testaments of NFL and former NFL players about their religious experiences. For Tebow, though he does subscribe to a very antiquated type of Protestantism, his exchanges with God reflect the potent power of his religious perspective. Nonetheless, faith played an important role in his athletic ability: the "personal reinforcement" he received from God or from his conception of God gave him hope and confidence. That hope and confidence has its origins not only in his staunch religious perspective and upbringing, but also in his likely need for assurance before a very challenging game. Thus, faith in religious athletes, especially football athletes, should be seen as being not only resulting from a faithful background or perspective but also from a need for reassurance, stability, and confidence in the face of challenges.