Faith, Football & the Super Bowl: A Game Bigger Than Sports

Religion Has Become Part of the Conversation

Don’t be surprised if religious faith is part of the conversation leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans Sunday. The head coaches and starting quarterbacks for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are outspoken about their beliefs and will undoubtedly express them before and after the big game. Faith, football and the Super Bowl apparently go together.

What Are Coaches, Quarterbacks Saying? 

Lately, the Super Bowl LIX coaches and quarterbacks have been saying quite a bit about their faith.

A “Game Plan” for Life

Andy Reid, head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, has called faith his “game plan” for life. “Somewhere along the line, you’re gonna have issues. Some are greater than others, but you’re gonna have these hurdles….  So, we bank on our faith to get us through that,” he once said during an “All In” podcast.

The importance of faith is evident in the way Reid lives his life and handles personal and professional problems. When Chief’s tight end Travis Kelce deliberately bumped into and screamed at his coach during the 2023 Super Bowl, for example, Reid calmly deflated the tantrum.

It could have become an even more highly charged situation. Some people thought the coach should have come down hard on Kelce. But Reid was true to his faith and chose to be a peacekeeper rather than a combatant.

His faith also came into play when former star quarterback Michael Vick was struggling to put his life back together after leaving prison in 2009. For the most part, everyone had abandoned Vick except for his wife, and he wasn’t sure he had a future in football.

But Reid, who coached the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, gave him a second chance, according to Deseret News. With Reid’s help, Vick got his life back together and is now head football coach at Norfolk State University. He also was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame not long ago.

The coach attributes his winning football formula to the teachings of his faith, the news outlet noted. His faith is paramount, and even on game days, he makes sure to receive the sacrament.

“What Truly Matters in Life”

Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes has said he prays regardless of what happens “win or lose, success or failure, that I’m glorifying” God, Sports Spectrum reported last month.

Mahomes’ pre-game ritual always includes walking the field and then praying at one of the goalposts. It’s been something he’s done since high school, and it lasts about two hours. “I just thank God for those opportunities, and I thank God for letting me be on a stage where I can glorify him,” he recently said.

“You know that obviously you want to win, but at the end of the day, you’re doing it for something that’s much bigger than yourself.” He explained, “I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and let me be who I am for His name. So (faith) has a role in everything that I do.”

“In a world where many athletes succumb to the pressures of fame and fortune, Mahomes stands out as a role model for aspiring athletes and fans alike,” the news site Marca has written. “His unwavering faith and dedication inspire others to prioritize what truly matters in life.”

Mahomes regularly attends the Chiefs’ chapel services, according to the team’s chaplain Marcellus Casey. The quarterback said he has grown spiritually in recent years and firmly believes, “You can’t be half in and half out” with God.

Faith, football & the Super Bowl are on undoubtedly on Mahomes’ mind this week. But there should be no doubt which one is most important.

“Never Losing Faith”

Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will start for the Philadelphia Eagles, also puts his faith in God whether times are good or bad. One of the bad times occurred when he was playing college football at Alabama and lost his starting position to Tua Tagovailoa during the 2018 national championship game.

Alabama was trailing Georgia 13-0 at halftime, and coach Nick Saban replaced Hurts at quarterback with Tagovailoa. (Bama eventually won the game 26-23 in overtime.)

“I understand that God put those obstacles and challenges in my life for a reason,” Hurts wrote after the game. “He wanted me to feel the pain I felt for a reason. He wanted me to understand the importance of never losing faith – and of always staying true to myself. He had NOT brought me this far just to leave me there.”

Hurts transferred to Oklahoma with Saban’s blessing and finished as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. The Eagles chose him in the 2020 NFL draft, and he became the starting quarterback in 2021.

He has said God sometimes places obstacles in his life to teach him about faith, which is true for many people. “My strength comes from God,” he has said. “I know what my foundation is with my faith, and nothing goes on without God.”

“Jalen Hurts’ journey is a testament to resilience, faith and the power of community,” NBC affiliate WPRC 2 in Houston recently told viewers. “His story is far from over, but one thing is clear – Jalen Hurts is destined to leave an enduring legacy, both on and off the field.”

“Serious, Intense, Committed”

Another devout Christian is the Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, who remarkably brought his team to the Super Bowl in his second season as an NFL head coach. He’s an intense guy, as you would expect from a man in his position. The team’s chaplain Ted Winsley has said the coach approaches Bible study in the same way – “serious, intense, committed, thoughtful.”

“When we did the first coaches’ study, it was Nick and two other coaches. And the next week it was Nick and five other coaches. Then it was Nick and seven other coaches. Now, I think the last one was Nick and 15 coaches.” Winsley said. If coach Sirianni misses a day, he gets Winsley’s notes and studies on his own.

Sirianni has said he never wanted to be anything other than a football coach. “It was like God said, ‘You’re a football coach and you’re going to be a football coach.’” But sports has never become more important to him than faith.

Faith, family and football – “That’s probably the motto of our family,” Sirianni’s father, Fran, has said. Fran Sirianni, who coached football in various locations for nearly 45 years, explained, “Our faith is strong, but football is definitely strong in that third spot.”

More on Super Bowl 2025

“The Super Bowl is more than just a football game – it’s a global spectacle that brings together sports, entertainment, and pop culture like no other event,” according to Marca. And – if you ask the head coaches and star quarterbacks – faith and the Super Bowl go hand-in-hand.

Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9 from New Orleans. Fox will carry the game, and it will live stream on Fubo, Tubi, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.