Ahead of their historic clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, some NFL players from the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams spent time in prayer at Mass. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
A group of players from the San Francisco 49ers joined Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli for a pre-game celebration of the Eucharist.
The Mass was organised through the team’s coaching staff and allowed players like star running back Christian McCaffrey, a devout Catholic, to partake in spiritual fortification before the big game.
Faith and football have long been closely intertwined in the NFL, and it’s not uncommon to see players praying publicly on and off the field, win or lose.
The unrelenting pressure of the sport and the fame it brings are things that faith and pastoral support can help alleviate, said Fr Peter Fitzsimons, who said Mass for the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
“They rang and were looking for Mass to be celebrated on the night before the game,” he explained. The team had contacted the parish of St Mary’s West Melbourne as it was close to where they were staying in Melbourne.
“They had a pretty tight schedule. I was in contact with one of the assistant coaches, Coach Gifford Smith,” Fr Fitzsimons said.
He went to their hotel the night before the game and was joined by a group of players and coaches for Mass.
“You could see that they were tired, which was completely understandable. But they made the effort to come.”
Fr Fitzsimons said the opportunity for prayer and the pastoral support offered to players is an important feature of team sports.
“I think part of it is this pastoral thing of just caring for the players, and the spiritual welfare of the players,” he said.
“They’re role models; everyone looks at them, and they’re in a high-pressure environment. I think they [the coaching staff] work out that if they can support these people spiritually, they’re probably going to get into less problems themselves, plus it’s helpful for the team’s morale.
“You’ve got a lot of pressure on you, and if you’ve got the support of faith, it helps you to be humble.
“And if [the team] can keep them on the straight and narrow while they’re playing football, then it’s basically it’s a win for everyone.”
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Prayer the strategy in inaugural NFL game (Melbourne Catholic)
