After the Chicago Bears’ near-miraculous comeback win against longtime rivals the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, Jan. 10, many on social media held forth that the pope’s prayers worked.
Now, they probably won’t say that if the Bears don’t win the next game, but, what about that? Does God take sides in a sporting event?
In a word, no — not exactly, not as such.
Winning in a Loss, and Losing in a Win
A team is composed of individuals, as is a team’s fandom. While any team or fan would consider a win a good thing, it’s not that simple.
If a team wins and becomes overconfident or arrogant, or sacrifices sportsmanship to get there, or breaks the rules, that’s not good. If a fan celebrates a win by drinking too much and smashing up a bar or the living room, also not good.
But, if a team loses and uses that loss to learn lessons in perseverance and resilience, and strives to become better, there’s a win in that loss. If a loss teaches a fan the rewards of loyalty in difficulty, and the virtues of being gracious in defeat, those are good things.
God, being God, takes a long view, tailored to each individual. In the moment, wins are amazing, and losses are … not, but God doesn’t just exist in the moment.
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Yeah, All of This Sounds Nice, but Da Pope! Da Bears!
Pope Leo XIV is a very public Chicago White Sox baseball fan, but he hasn’t really declared a football allegiance.
Did he pray for the Bears? I don’t know, but if he did, I suspect it was a broader prayer than just one for outscoring the Packers. Is he happy? He has family members that are Bears fans, so, I’m sure he is, at least on their behalf.
God’s ultimate purpose is salvation, so to any degree that the Bears win, or the Packers’ loss, contributed to the salvation of anyone involved in or paying attention to the game, that’s a win in His view.
It is pretty cool, though, to have the long-snakebit Bears and their long-suffering fans getting a playoff win during the papacy of a native son — and it has been a very long time since this particular NFL scenario happened.
From @KyleBrandt on X: Last time Chicago beat Green Bay in the playoffs was one week after Pearl Harbor.
This is what it looked like:
Last time Chicago beat Green Bay in the playoffs was one week after Pearl Harbor.
Last time Chicago beat Green Bay in the playoffs was one week after Pearl Harbor.
This is what it looked like. Thank you @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/dEPTvJDIKN
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) January 10, 2026
Did the Bears Deserve to Win?
Guaranteed there are commentators and Packers fans who will characterize the game as a failure of the Packers — who led 21-3 at halftime — rather than a success of the Bears.
So, did Chicago actually deserve to beat Green Bay?
In my view, “deserving” a win isn’t a thing that exists. Unless there was cheating, the team that deserved to win is the team that won.
Now, having said that, does any team “deserve” to beat my Seattle Seahawks? No, of course not — says the fan in me. But, I will tell you a story about that.
Malcolm Butler, the New England Patriots … and the Philadelphia Eagles
Before I became an official Seahawks fan, I was invited to a watch party for the Seahawks-Patriots contest, Super Bowl XLIX, in February 2015. It’s a long story why, but I decided I would root for the Seahawks, who had beaten the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl the year before.
I won’t get into how the game ended (but fear not, someone will bring it up again), but I will say something about Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who made the winning interception.
He was a rookie — an undrafted free agent from a small school — and began the Super Bowl game as the fifth cornerback down on the Patriots’ depth chart.
After the play, he went up and down the sideline, sobbing and hugging everyone. He said the moment was a miracle. I couldn’t help but be happy for him.
If not for that play, it’s very likely that Butler’s career would have fizzled out. But after that play, his star rose with the Patriots. He became an All Pro and Pro Bowler, and signed with the Tennessee Titans and the Arizona Cardinals before officially retiring in 2024.
The second time I saw Malcolm Butler cry, it was when Patriots Coach Bill Belichick benched Butler for Super Bowl LII in 2018, against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Again at a watch party, at the beginning of the game, I declared my opinion that I felt God had put his hand on Butler in that first Super Bowl, and that benching him meant the Patriots would lose. There was universal scoffing about that.
Well, the Eagles did win, 41-33 — and players and coaches proclaimed their faith in Christ on global TV. I wrote about the public Christianity of Eagles players and coaches at the time, asking if they were “a team of Tebows.”
So, did God want the Eagles to win? Was benching Butler a factor? This side of Heaven, we’ll never know, but, either way, it was a good day for evangelization.
Now, There’s Fernando Mendoza
Currently, we have devout Catholic quarterback Fernando Mendoza leading his Indiana Hoosiers on a so-far-undefeated run toward the college-football national championship. He seems like a great young man and is a vocal witness for his faith.
I don’t know if God favors the Hoosiers, but if the team’s win streak helps lead fans to the Church, Hoo Hoo Hooo Hoosiers! And it’s a great time for the Dominican pastor at Indiana University …
Favorite photo from covering Indiana’s win over Oregon?
St. Paul Catholic Center priest Patrick Hyde soaking in the victory and supporting Fernando Mendoza. pic.twitter.com/FlZz2Ehsbd
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) January 10, 2026
Images: Adobe Stock
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