BYU, Boise State football teams banded together to pray. Why and how

The BYU and Boise State players captured a stunning picture on Friday night as they held each other’s hands and kneeled together on the blue lawn of Albertsons Stadium in Boise after a game between two national-ranked football teams.

Pastor Mark Thornton stood in their midst, praying over them as some players bowed their heads and others raised their faces to the sky. Almost every player on both teams took part. The huge crush between the rivals, who are usually on the field, covered the logo in the midfield and extended over 15 meters.

That’s rare, said Thornton.

A photo made the rounds on social media, but it lacked some context. How did the unusual prayer come about? Why did players at a public university in Idaho pray with those at a private school in Latter-day Saints, Utah? And what did that mean for the players and coaches?

Prayer is an important part of both programs, according to interviews with BYU players Gunner Romney and Isaac Rex and Avery Williams from Boise State. BYU’s aftermath prayer usually takes place in the locker room, and Boise State hosts one every week in midfield.

“We’re so similar: we started with prayer, we’ll end with prayer, and we’ll give glory to God,” said Thornton, who is the team’s chaplain.

He usually goes to the other school’s chaplain before a game to invite opponents to join the Broncos in prayer afterwards in midfield, but he didn’t know BYU had a team chaplain. Because of this, BYU’s players started on Friday night after the Cougars shed the blue turf. Then they finished ninth in the country, beating 21st Boise State 51-17.

Then Thornton found BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.

“Hey, we’re getting ready to pray,” he said.

“Can we join you?” Asked Sitake. Then he called his players back to the 50 yard line.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

“I’m grateful to the BYU coaches,” Thornton said this week. “We’re playing against some teams that don’t have a chaplain. We play against other teams who didn’t let their players stay and pray even though the players on the other team wanted to pray with us. “

Avery Williams, co-captain of Boise State, was stunned when virtually the entire BYU team joined the prayer group.

“I don’t know if a whole team has joined us in the years I’ve been here. That means a lot, ”he said.

Sitake said he didn’t miss it.

“We’re not going to refuse when a team invites our team to kneel down and praise God for the opportunity we had to play,” he said. “What a great invitation from you. I’ve been very impressed with them throughout the game, just a great program with wonderful athleticism, and you know, hopefully we can have that kind of influence on other programs by playing them. “

Friday prayer had added significance because it was part of a burgeoning regional rivalry. The schools have played against each other for nine consecutive years and have games scheduled for 13 of the next 14 seasons.

A couple of players said praying with their opponents was grounded.

“Football is a competitive game so you play, you talk rubbish, you fight people on the field, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s just a sport. There may be harsh feelings on the field, but once you leave the field they are your brothers. You have to love her a little, ”said BYU’s Romney, a junior who ranks 10th in the nation at 648 yards.

“The fact that it’s such a big rivalry and we can really be physically with each other, compete very hard with each other and then let our pride drop, drop our ego, drop what just happened for two to three hours and Thank God, that says something about both schools, ”added Williams of Boise State, a speed demon who is the reigning Player of the Year for the Mountain West Conference special teams with six career touchdowns on kick and punt returns.

Boise State University

While rivals, many players know each other which added another layer of meaning to the experience.

BYU’s Boise State linebacker and co-captain Riley Wimpey and Rex are friends who attended the same Latter-day Saint community and high school that grew up together in San Clemente, California.

“I knelt next to him after the game and we prayed with the whole team. It was a really cool experience and something I will never forget, ”said Rex, a close ending who scored two touchdown passes in the game and is now in tenth place in the nation with six touchdown catches.

Thornton loved this aspect of praying with the teams.

“It’s a small world, you know?” he said. “We have people from Utah and California whose friends play at BYU. They’re enemies, rivals during the game, but after that it’s like, “Hey, you know what? I’ll see you at Christmas time “or” I’ll see it in the summer “. So it’s nice when they bring it all back together after the competition.”

Thornton thanked them for the opportunity to play the game. Both teams had changed their schedules due to the pandemic. BYU is unbeaten and now ranks 8th in the nation. Boise State dropped out of the top 25 but is 2-1 and is still in control of their destiny in the Mountain West Conference championship race.

“We have prayed for the guys who were injured on both sides of the field just for them to make a speedy recovery,” said Thornton. “We blessed BYU and just prayed that they continue to have a great season and that we will continue to have a great season.”

BYU photo

While BYU is a private religious institution and Boise State is a state school, the role of faith in their two football programs is strikingly similar.

Thornton takes the Boise State players to the chapel the night before each game and participates in a player-led prayer that sees 95% of the team huddled together after the pre-game warm-up. He said 15 to 25 players usually ask him to pray with them one at a time before the game starts.

Thornton estimated that 60% of Boise State players are Evangelical Christians and about 30% are Latter-day Saints. Others are Catholic or “seekers” or agnostics, he said.

Boise’s coaches emphasize the mind, body, spirit and spirit, he added. Williams said the bronco coaches are men of God who join the team at the chapel, but the defender said none of the coaches or players press anyone to pray or attend chapel meetings. Nevertheless, 85% to 90% appear.

Whimpey, the linebacker and co-captain of Latter-day Saints, is usually in the front row of the chapel, Thornton said. Confessional differences take a back seat to a shared belief in Jesus Christ crucified, he added.

“Faith really unites us,” said Williams. “We have this relationship with God and we realize that there is something much bigger than us that we are all waiting for.”

Thornton, a Bronco player from 1984 to 1985, plays a role in guiding the Boise State believers through the seasons of life.

“There are just all kinds of emotions, all kinds of fears and things that the game doesn’t necessarily talk to,” he said. “The coaches make a big deal of our having a chapel and promoting prayer time and Bible study time.”

Prayer and scripture study are part of the BYU experience. Classes begin with a prayer, as do any campus event, including games. Students have to take religion courses as part of their general education.

“We pray before meetings every day,” said Romney. “In practice, we open ourselves with a prayer all week long, and before the games we all come together and say a prayer. After the games we thank God. That’s one thing that is really cool, and I think it got us pretty close as a team. ”

Holding hands with an opponent, even one who’s badly beaten his team, is a given for Boise State’s Williams.

“This is pretty much a no-brainer for me,” he said. “We all understand that our faith is much bigger than football. At some point the players have to hang up the cleats and we won’t play at some point, but the belief goes on and the belief goes on and everyone realizes that. So it’s not like, “Oh, will I be holding my teammate’s hand?” or ‘Am I really going to hold an opposing player’s hand?’ It’s a no-brainer. Faith is much bigger than this sport. “