# Is it wrong to pray for your football team to win? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 29, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391 "2009-11-29T23:05:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/41 "2009-11-30T22:21:44Z")
God is independent of space and time. If you missed the game and don’t know the result, can you pray for your team to _have already won_? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/42 "2009-11-30T22:23:42Z")
Only if you have TiVo. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/43 "2009-11-30T22:29:36Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > God is independent of space and time. If you missed the game and don’t know the result, can you pray for your team to _have already won_? Wouldn’t that upset that whole space … time … continuum … thing? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/44 "2009-12-01T05:47:47Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’m surprised that nobody has pointed out that there’s a difference between praying that your team wins and praying that players on the other side get hurt. Negative prayer is like any other kind of negative karma; bad juju and likely to bite the sender. At least that’s what they taught in the “holy classes” I took. But being the basically sinful humans that we are I think we all do it now and then. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/45 "2009-12-01T05:51:27Z")
You’d be wasting your time. As everyone knows, God plays cricket. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/46 "2009-12-01T06:26:01Z")
It’s permissible if you’re praying for the Saints! And it’s working… 11-0!!! ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/47 "2009-12-01T06:46:39Z")
I guess the Saints get a pass. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/48 "2009-12-01T07:17:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Somebody has to. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/49 "2009-12-01T07:57:48Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Jesus was speaking about people who prayed ostentatiously in order to garner attention… Like televangelists. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391/50 "2009-12-01T09:36:10Z")
Say you pray for the Steelers each game. You’ll make up your own reason on whatever the outcome. They go 19-0 and take the Bowl, you might think he’s got your back or he’s a Steeler fan too! Maybe he was being fair to them and the other teams they played, or if they go 1-15, you might think it’s your fault somehow and he smited your wish/prayer. Isn’t that what that really is though? A wish? Yes, I think so. The prayer part is a front and why would an omnipotent really care? I’ve heard people say that God counts all the prayers so whoever has the most prayers wins the game! I think any god would tell you it ain’t about prayers, it’s about points. “You humans invented this weekly sacrilege on Sunday!” News flash for Cowboy fans and personnel: God did not invent football, we did. It’s true that Jerry Jones owns the NFL and always uses real silver when minting the two-headed coins they use in Cowboy playoffs. (Sorry. Eagle fan, here) 😃 Just don’t ask me what I think about the players pointing to the clouds after a TD. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-pray-for-your-football-team-to-win/519391.md?page=2)