The joy of football – global, that is, not American – found its spiritual home in Qatar for one month this winter. Few celebratory storylines were as gripping as Morocco’s run to the semifinals. When that former French colony stood on the pitch facing its historical colonizing nation, the Moroccan men in red, seen as an over-achieving, ever-determined underdog, the weight of the accomplishment befell them and they fell to the ground. Hamdallah! They prostrated themselves before God. Even as the best defensive team in the tournament, the Moroccans would not win the match. Did God fail them? With unwavering faith, even after a 0-2 loss to France, Morocco once again bowed before the Almighty in sujood prayer - a prayer of prostration, with their forehead and all limbs pressed against the ground.

Such a transcendent moment invites a reckoning of the efficacy of prayer. Many faithful – myself included – struggle to recognize and reconcile the prospect and evidence of the result of prayer. We have faith, yes, but can others recognize it? Does prayer work? But, in the case of an athletic contest, are we even asking the right question? Should it? Is prayer ever intended to observe the miracle of a ball crossing a line? Like everyone else, I am enamored by Mo Salah, a prolific Egyptian scorer, but I recognize the achievement for the foot that struck the ball. He’s a god to some, but not God.

Back at home in the USA, scenes of players praying parade across television each NFL Sunday. During the MLB season, tattooed crosses and jewelry with Christian symbolism are displayed on the bodies of the athletes. The relationship between sport and the spirit is secure. All of these outward expressions beg the question: Does God care who wins the game?

Such an inquiry presumes a God, and such a claim - that God exists - necessitates this clarifier: Many of the Moroccan players are Muslim. The Islamic God is the God of Abraham. The Abrahamic God, for Jews, is the God of the children of Isaac. The Abrahamic God, for Christians, is the God Incarnate in Christ. The Abrahamic God, for Muslims, is the God that spoke a final message to the Prophet Mohammad. As such, and astoundingly, this is the God to whom nearly one out of every two humans pray. Over four billion humans pray to God! How does God keep track of all those prayers, and keep score of all those games?

A theological insight is the seed within the flower of athletes’ prayer. Muslim prostration, and prayer in general, is unanswered as a solicitation of victory on the field. It must be a false hope to win the match by God’s decree. God’s work in the world is never observed on a scoreboard. Mon Dieu! How can it? Good people can be really bad footballers.

Instead, consider that the culture of athletics stands as a paradigmatic expression of collaboration and teamwork - the realization that you cannot do it alone, and you must do your part. Any accomplished athlete understands the scope of the support that made the moment possible. Monotheism must still be claimed in the midst of the multitude; as the adage states, “there is no ‘I’ in team.” Prostration becomes humility before the One and the many; it honors others as much as it names one’s faith. From the first whistle to the Final, we are part of a team.

Jan Flaska is the Dean of Spiritual and Ethical Life at Deerfield Academy. Jan coaches soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse and tennis, and believes that no field, arena or classroom is absent of spiritual considerations and presence. In our lives, break bread and break a sweat!

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