In 2014, I was watching the University of Virginia (my alma mater) win its first NCAA tournament game under current coach Tony Bennett. In the post game interview Bennett opened by thanking “his lord and savior Jesus Christ” after which I wrote to UVA president Teresa Sullivan and suggested the institution’s founder and author of the Virginia statutes on religious freedom Thomas Jefferson might be appalled a representative of his university would use this occasion to publicly profess his spiritual preference. After all, Jefferson often wrote, no individual regardless of position or spiritual inclination should ever use a public platform to openly profess their devoutness. That is why we have churches, synagogues and mosques.
At a more practical level, I found it hard to believe, if there is a God, he or she really cares about sports and who wins or loses a game (Notre Dame football aside). That is, until Sunday night when the Las Vegas Golden Knights, a first year expansion ice hockey franchise, defeated the Winnipeg Jets to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.
Just days before Sin City’s first ever professional sports contest on October 6, 2017, Vegas was shocked by the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival which resulted in 58 deaths and over 850 injured. If ever a city needed a rallying point, this was that case. And it began five days later when the Golden Knights opened the season with a win over the Dallas Stars before a sellout crowd of 18,542. A fluke? Hardly, as the team went on to capture its next two games. After every win, sports pundits opined, “Are the Golden Knights for real? Surely, this can’t go on much longer.” But as we witnessed Sunday night, the story continues.
Now, I’m not prepared to completely reverse my view on divine providence based on a sample of one, but there was a similar situation in 2009. Four years earlier, the City of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, sustaining over $100 billion in damages. Among the impacted facilities was the New Orleans Super Dome, home to the NFL Saints, forcing the team to play it’s 2005 home games at LSU and the San Antonio Alamo Dome. Many thought the Saints would not return to New Orleans due to cost of refitting the Super Dome. With an uncertain future, the 2007 and 2008 seasons were lackluster with an overall record of 15-16 and no post season appearances. There was no reason to believe the 2009 season would be any different. Except the Saints players thought it was time to give the citizens of The Big Easy something to cheer about. Dedicating their season to all those affected by Katrina, the Saints won their first Super Bowl championship by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.
So maybe there is occasional divine intervention in the world of sports. That’s why I am a devout agnostic and not a confirmed atheist. Who knows? But if this is the case, let me make one final observation. The Jacksonville area had not been subjected to a truly damaging hurricane since Dora in 1964. In 2016 and 2017, the region had two close calls (Matthew and Irma). And coincidentally(?), in 2017 the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars had their first winning season in ten years and made it to the AFC championship game. Not a Super Bowl winning year, but close. So, if it takes a direct hit from a category 5 hurricane for the Jaguars to win the NFL title, I’m okay waiting a few more years to see Jaguars wearing a Super Bowl ring.
FOOTNOTE: After the University of Virginia became the first #1 seed in NCAA tournament history to lose in the first round to #16 seed UMBC, I don’t remember coach Bennett thanking his lord and savior for that outcome. I guess fair-weather fans exist not only in stadiums, arenas and ballparks.
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP