Does God Care? Well, the Readers Do

The excellent special report, “Does God Care Who Wins?” [Feb. 21] reinforced all my prejudices that most professional athletes have been hit on the head a few too many times.

SALLY ANGEL, Valencia

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Religion does not belong in sports. I wish God would just butt out and allow the best team to win.

GEORGE WOOD, Malibu

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Sweet, gentle Jesus would puke in his breakfast cereal if he knew that 300-pound linemen were disabling quarterbacks in his name.

LARRY SHAPIRO, Rancho Mirage

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I feel OK, even inspired, when I see athletes thank God in their prayers for their abilities and talents to compete on the sports field. All of the prayers and ideas that Reggie White, Randall Cunningham and others expressed beyond that sentiment, however, seem to me to be theologically childish, selfish, chauvinistic and downright grotesque. God has better items on the divine agenda than determining who wins the Super Bowl.

ELLIOT FEIN, Mission Viejo

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It’s absurd to think that God gives a sweet flip about the outcome of a secular sporting contest. If so, God would be saying, “Let’s see, there’s Kosovo, Rwanda and Bosnia to worry about. Oh yeah, while I’m at it, I better have the Broncos cover the point spread.”

After all, if a loving God really cared about the moral character of those involved in sporting events, why would he have allowed the Cowboys to win those Super Bowls in the ‘90s?

DAVID A. PEREZ, Fountain Valley

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If Reggie White wants to make the ludicrous assertion that God affects the outcome of football games, he should at least be consistent. After a year of verbally bashing gays, Mr. White should take the Packers’ loss to San Francisco (one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world) as a message from God.

BENJAMIN ZEBLEY, Washington

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Reggie White has attained iconic status, due mainly to the uncanny athletic dominance that characterized his NFL career. Consequently, his unsolicited pontifications have been deemed acceptable. Whereas a lowly special teams wedge blocker would have his mike abruptly disconnected immediately after exclaiming, “Praise!” Superstars such as White and Deion Sanders are left to indulge themselves, zestfully extolling their faith at the expense of millions of sports fans, many of whom actually tuned in to watch a game.

BROCK D. COHEN, Sherman Oaks

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I hope Dennis Rodman read Chris Dufresne’s excellent report. A relationship with God is exactly what Hollyworm needs.

DENNIS VAUGHAN, West Covina

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If God cared, USC would have the eight-game winning streak rather than UCLA.

PABLO P. PRIETTO, Santa Ana