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https://www.aol.com/news/ap-norc-poll-game-day-130122823-133908431.html
Dolores Mejia thought the Chicago Bears could use a Hail Mary.
In fact, she said the prayer several times as she watched the 1986 Super Bowl, pairing the intercession to the Holy Mother with two other rosary staples — the Our Father and the Glory Be — before her team defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 and took home their first and only Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“I was ecstatic, but I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
While appeals to the divine are not a fundamental part of most sports fans' playbooks, Mejia and others like her believe prayer has the power to influence who goes home the victor. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe it can play a role in determining who wins a sporting event, and a similar percentage say God plays a role, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Among fans of professional sports, 23% say they have prayed about the outcome of a contest, according to the poll. Religious background is a factor: 35% of evangelical fans say they have done so, compared with 21% of fans of other religious faiths. But professional sports fans don’t have to believe to pray. The poll shows that 15% of nonreligious fans say they too have prayed for the outcome of a game.
Mejia, a 73-year-old Catholic and Chicago native now living in Peoria, Arizona, said prayer has been second nature since childhood, and when a game or life gets tense, it can help calm her nerves.
But she has been disappointed often. Today Mejia, who is not a regular at Mass, has stopped praying for the Bears altogether, focusing her appeals to God instead on friends with serious health problems. “The Bears have been doing so terribly. ... I just think we’re not meant to win,” she said.
Still, she believes that on that January day in 1986, her Super Bowl prayers were answered.
Does that mean God is a Bears fan? Or favors any other team?
“I really don't think God cares who wins,” said the Rev. Burke Masters, a Catholic priest who celebrates Mass for players and staff as chaplain for the Chicago Cubs.
During the team's historic 2016 championship run, he was put on the spot to offer a blessing on live TV, prompting him to pray for God to keep the players safe. The Cubs would go on to end a 108-year championship drought — and finally broke what some believed was a curse brought on by a Chicago tavern owner’s pet billy goat.
“Do people pray? Absolutely. I think a lot of people pray. But I think some of it is superstition as well,” said Masters, who used to play the game in college and the minor leagues. “Baseball players especially are superstitious. ... I’ve been to people’s homes where they say, ‘Things are going well. Don’t move.’”
From lucky socks to playoff beards, ritualistic acts are entrenched in sports culture. And some think they are effective. About a quarter of U.S. adults say superstitions or rituals can play a role in who wins a sporting event, according to the AP-NORC poll.
Dolores Mejia thought the Chicago Bears could use a Hail Mary.
In fact, she said the prayer several times as she watched the 1986 Super Bowl, pairing the intercession to the Holy Mother with two other rosary staples — the Our Father and the Glory Be — before her team defeated the New England Patriots 46-10 and took home their first and only Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“I was ecstatic, but I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
While appeals to the divine are not a fundamental part of most sports fans' playbooks, Mejia and others like her believe prayer has the power to influence who goes home the victor. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe it can play a role in determining who wins a sporting event, and a similar percentage say God plays a role, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Among fans of professional sports, 23% say they have prayed about the outcome of a contest, according to the poll. Religious background is a factor: 35% of evangelical fans say they have done so, compared with 21% of fans of other religious faiths. But professional sports fans don’t have to believe to pray. The poll shows that 15% of nonreligious fans say they too have prayed for the outcome of a game.
Mejia, a 73-year-old Catholic and Chicago native now living in Peoria, Arizona, said prayer has been second nature since childhood, and when a game or life gets tense, it can help calm her nerves.
But she has been disappointed often. Today Mejia, who is not a regular at Mass, has stopped praying for the Bears altogether, focusing her appeals to God instead on friends with serious health problems. “The Bears have been doing so terribly. ... I just think we’re not meant to win,” she said.
Still, she believes that on that January day in 1986, her Super Bowl prayers were answered.
Does that mean God is a Bears fan? Or favors any other team?
“I really don't think God cares who wins,” said the Rev. Burke Masters, a Catholic priest who celebrates Mass for players and staff as chaplain for the Chicago Cubs.
During the team's historic 2016 championship run, he was put on the spot to offer a blessing on live TV, prompting him to pray for God to keep the players safe. The Cubs would go on to end a 108-year championship drought — and finally broke what some believed was a curse brought on by a Chicago tavern owner’s pet billy goat.
“Do people pray? Absolutely. I think a lot of people pray. But I think some of it is superstition as well,” said Masters, who used to play the game in college and the minor leagues. “Baseball players especially are superstitious. ... I’ve been to people’s homes where they say, ‘Things are going well. Don’t move.’”
From lucky socks to playoff beards, ritualistic acts are entrenched in sports culture. And some think they are effective. About a quarter of U.S. adults say superstitions or rituals can play a role in who wins a sporting event, according to the AP-NORC poll.
Don't I overlook winning combinations for PowerBall !
I agree. I've always said if you are going to pray for something, do for the lotto.
NPR interviewed a professor about the use of rituals on September 14, 2022. You can hear everything and read highlights of what he said at
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/14/1122488496/rituals-book-covid-graduation-birthdays-anthropology
From the website:
"Dimitris Xygalatas is an anthropologist and scientist at The University of Connecticut, and recently wrote Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life
Worth Living.
In his book, he explores our relationships with rituals, big and small, and the social, physical, and economic impacts they have on our lives.
"Rituals are central to virtually all of our social institutions. Think of a judge waving a gavel or a new president taking an oath of office," he writes.
"They are held by militaries, governments and corporations, in initiation ceremonies, parades, and costly displays of commitment. They are used by athletes
who always wear the same socks in important games, and by gamblers who kiss the dice or cling on to lucky charms when the stakes are high."
Xygalatas argues the need for ritual is primeval and may have played a pivotal role in human civilization. He joined All Things Considered to explain some
of his findings."
Prayer, as described by the OP, very much falls into ritualistic behavior.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/14/1122488496/rituals-book-covid-graduation-birthdays-anthropology
From the website:
"Dimitris Xygalatas is an anthropologist and scientist at The University of Connecticut, and recently wrote Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life
Worth Living.
In his book, he explores our relationships with rituals, big and small, and the social, physical, and economic impacts they have on our lives.
"Rituals are central to virtually all of our social institutions. Think of a judge waving a gavel or a new president taking an oath of office," he writes.
"They are held by militaries, governments and corporations, in initiation ceremonies, parades, and costly displays of commitment. They are used by athletes
who always wear the same socks in important games, and by gamblers who kiss the dice or cling on to lucky charms when the stakes are high."
Xygalatas argues the need for ritual is primeval and may have played a pivotal role in human civilization. He joined All Things Considered to explain some
of his findings."
Prayer, as described by the OP, very much falls into ritualistic behavior.
I always avoided stepping on sidewalk cracks.
...but mom died anyway.
...but mom died anyway.