Playing with God on Your Side

God won't be pacing the sidelines at the Stadium tomorrow, and He won't be throwing any touchdown passes.

But He'll be there just the same--at least in the minds of some faithful football fans.

Football and religion have always gone hand-in-hand. Pregame prayers, "Hail Mary" passes, and "miraculous" comebacks are all hallowed rites. "Like religion, football is ritualized," says Father Michael F. Ford, chaplain at Holy Cross and former high school teacher for Harvard football standouts Bob Joyce and Brian Sullivan.

"For instance, in both religion and football there's special clothing," Father Ford says. "And the huddle is like a prayer, a prayer to `Our Lady of Victory."'

Think about it. The most blessed team of all time--Notre Dame--is named after the Virgin Mary, and for decades Notre Dame slew the heathens of the NCAA. When former Coach Gerry Foust suffered his baptism by fire, however, he once ordered blue uniforms because, he said, blue is the color of the Blessed Virgin (seriously).

Foust's prayers went unanswered, though, and a host of other religious-affiliated football teams took Notre Dame's place.

Hail Mary

One Catholic school--Boston College--briefly moved into the spotlight on the strength of Doug Flutie and his "Hail Mary" pass against Miami. BC lost the national championship that year to the Mormons of BYU.

And a few years back, the Protestants at Southern Methodist University put together a highly-ranked team, led by the deified Eric Dickerson.

Down here with the mortals of college football--that is, in the earthly realm of Division 1-AA--Harvard battles Holy Cross today. Religion will, of course, play a role: Holy Cross is a devoted Catholic institution, and the team attends mass this morning.

But last year it was Harvard that benefited from divine intervention. The Crimson scored 21 points in 41 seconds for a spectacular fourth-quarter comeback victory. Bad puns came out in force, as headlines proclaimed, "Gridders Perform Miracle at the Cross."

Thank God that the Archbishop of Boston--Bernard Cardinal Law '53--is a Harvard man. Perhaps he tipped the divine balance for the Crimson.

Nonetheless, the Ivy League championship was won by the only team with a religious nickname: the Penn Quakers.

Don't forget, though, that God is still on our side. Harvard, after all, began as a seminary.