As players exited the field following the University of Texas’s thrilling overtime victory over Arizona State University in the College Football Playoffs, Texas freshman Nick Sanders approached ASU’s star senior Cam Skattebo and asked if he could pray for him.
Skattebo immediately understood the request, and the two clasped hands and took a knee together, their heads bowed on one another’s shoulders. With expressions of repose on their faces, the men spoke to the Lord from their hearts without a hint of self-consciousness before the crush of cameras. And when they were finished, they hugged and went their separate ways.
The nation is abuzz with talk of a “vibe shift” in recent months — for good reason. Many of the cultural innovations foisted upon the nation during the woke era have been repudiated by the public. The insidious ideology that assigned “oppressor” or “oppressed” status to individuals at birth based on immutable identity characteristics is on the run. And perhaps more than anything, Americans feel free to be themselves in public these days.
For Christians on the football field this seems especially true. At both the college and NFL levels, there’s been a conspicuous uptick in players professing faith in Jesus Christ and rerouting the glory earned by their efforts to Him. This has been true of benchwarmers and stars, and even, as in the case of Ohio State University and the Baltimore Ravens, entire teams.
For at least a generation, football players have been notorious for hogging the spotlight and the reveling in their own glory. And when they would take a knee, as Colin Kaepernick did in 2016, it wasn’t done out of reverence, but with a “look at me” comportment that transparently courted Nike commercials and Netflix specials.
And while there will still be plenty of sack dances and touchdown spikes this year, the players on the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs most likely to produce the game’s key moments are known for deflecting praise.
Chief’s superstar, Patrick Mahomes, who is knocking on Tom Brady’s door to become the most successful quarterback in history, put his faith front-and-center during a pre-Super Bowl press conference this week.
“Jesus is my Lord and Savior,” he told reporters. “He’s someone that I look up to every single day to decide what I want to do with my life, and how I want to live my life. Jesus is everything to me at the end of the day.”
His quarterback counterpart, Jalen Hurts of the Eagles, understands his responsibility to young Christians who will have their eyes on him Sunday.
“Not everyone in this life gets the chance to be a role model,” Hurts said recently. “And that’s why I’m on this mission: to be the best player, leader and man that I can be. I know everything will unfold according to God’s timing. I am blessed to be where my feet are; my trust is in His hands.”
Chief’s kicker Harrison Butker, the outspoken, scapular-wearing Catholic has delivered some of the most unforgettable Super Bowl moments in recent history. He never misses an opportunity to evangelize the culture, whether by pointing to the sky following his kicks or through his words.
“Our love for Jesus and thus our desire to speak out should never be outweighed by the longing of our fallen nature to be loved by the world,” Butker said in 2024. “Glorifying God and not ourselves should always remain our motivation despite any pushback or even support. I lean on those closest to me for guidance, but I can never forget that it is not people, but Jesus Christ, who I am trying to please.”
Of course, none of this is to say the NFL is a bastion of traditional American values. Reports indicate the league is still “all in” on DEI, for instance, despite its rapid decline in other areas of American life. The Super Bowl halftime show is inevitably among the year’s raunchiest cultural spectacles (last year’s performer, Rihanna, thought it necessary to rub her crotch then luxuriantly sniff her fingers). There is also certain to be heavy emphasis on gambling apps, despite the havoc they cause in so many lives.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But Christian witness on the gridiron is an unmistakable sign of a culture on the mend.
May the best team win today — and may all glory be given to God.
