If you haven’t noticed, the Philadelphia Eagles are not shy about thanking who they feel is most responsible for their athletic ability and team success. Whether you’re a religious person or not, it’s hard to push back on their collective sentiment considering their season ultimately ended with them defeating the favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52 (2/4/18).
Coaches, trainers, teammates, parents, the list goes on of who athletes usually thank first whenever a mic is shoved in their face after a big game. But not these Eagles… that first breath is reserved for their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which was the common (genuine) theme you heard over and over after winning Philadelphia’s first pro football championship in more than 50 years.
You often hear a pro athlete here or there thank the Lord for their on-field success, but the Philadelphia Eagles all seem to be on the same page. Almost like political pundits sent out with their talking points prepared to answer contentious questions on the Sunday morning talk shows, they didn’t skip a beat. Do a little digging and you quickly find out this isn’t just for show. A majority of players attend weekly Bible class, and many of them were baptized over the past year like Marcus D. Johnson.
“Last night I took another step forward in my faith. First time being baptized, and it wouldn’t have been possible withouth these group of MEN in this picture. Corporate worship is a beautiful thing!! Cleansed and reborn in Jesus name!!” – Marcus D. Johnson, Eagles Wide Reciever, (featured image above was posted by Marcus on his Instagram account: @mojomdj with this caption on October 12th, 2017) His picture garnered 4,600+ likes and nearly 300 comments.
“I wouldn’t be out here without God, without Jesus in my life… Unbelievable. All glory to God.” – Nick Foles, Eagles Quarterback, Super Bowl 52 MVP
Evangelicals, many of whom publicly support President Trump, have also been quick to publicly support the Philadelphia Eagles for their strong faith and Christianity. However, after the Super Bowl, many of these religious God-fearing Eagles quickly stated that they would not be attending the White House for the traditional visit. We’ll see if Evangelical support dwindles considering the White House will likely respond as time passes.
Either way, a quote from Tight End Zach Ertz might sum up the Eagles potential impact on millions of people around the world who have been questioning their faith.
“…faith and football this Sunday is huge. This is a platform to draw people to the Word, to Jesus. It’s not something we take for granted by any means.” – Zach Ertz, Eagles Tight End
Whether you’re a super religious person or not, it’s safe to say many people are probably re-examining their faith because of the Eagle’s willingness to publicly state how strong theirs is, and it’s hard to argue that’s not a good thing.
Similar read: Eagles Decline the White House
(No Claps Yet)
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Quite a complex story, eh? I’m from the south. Sundays are for family, faith, and football. THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS. All who bathe will be led to victory and so now I’ll be an Eagles fan as long as these^^^ boys are playing. No true follower of Jesus’ teachings can follow Trump. Trump would have turned away Jesus.
this is a word! “Trump would have turned away Jesus.”
I have several questions about mixing God and Sports:
What Does It Mean if both sides pray for victory and one loses?
Did the losing team not pray hard enough?
Did God prefer one team over the other?
And this article is awesome for pointing out that Trump is not a Christian.
The idea of mixing God with football is almost Unheard of. But these guys get it. “In all your ways in knowledge God and he will direct your path.” I believe the faith they have in God, gave them all they needed to press forward to the win
Norway is the most atheist country in the world at this moment and they are crushing the Olympics.
It might not be correct to equate faith in god with victory.
Interesting to see the negative ratings on the Norway comment when it is totally accurate and a great argument for why god does not interfere with sports.
If someone can provide a good counter-argument, that would be great.
Perhaps, believing prayer grants you victory is just wishful thinking and not true at all – and every time someone prays for victory and gets it, it’s just a coincidence (especially if the people on the other team pray just as hard).
It doesn’t matter how people feel about it (or how low they rate comments like this). The truth is the truth. God doesn’t pick sides.
Having strong faith, which I believe the article is about, and praying for a certain outcome, are two different things. I think you have the two confused. Also, why are you worried about ratings? People are entitled to feel how they want… low or high ratings, atheist or not, etc.
This article is clearly trying to draw a correlation between strong faith and success. (The last sentence makes that clear).
There is no proven correlation between prayer and success. The prosperity gospel is a scam.
People are entitled to their own opinions, not their own facts.
Please, again, someone prove any correlation between Faith and Success.
The counter argument has been made: Norway (atheist country) has won the Olympics. This at least should give people some healthy skepticism that God intervenes.
Ratings matter because perception matters to credulous people. Seeing a dozen people confirm one’s opinion can give one an undue confidence about their opinion.
But facts matter. Show the facts that prove your beliefs (like “having Faith is a good thing.”)