BYU, Boise State football teams have joined in praying. Why and how?

The BYU and Boise State players made a striking image Friday night as they held hands and knelt on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium in Boise after a game between two nationally ranked soccer teams.

Pastor Mark Thornton stood in their midst and prayed for them as some players bow their heads and others lift their faces to the sky. Virtually all players from both teams participated. The massive blockade between what are normally rivals on the pitch covered the logo in midfield and spanned 15 yards.

It’s rare, Thornton said.

A photo made the rounds on social networks, but some context was missing. How did the unusual prayer go? Why were players at a public college in Idaho praying with players at a private school in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Utah? And what did this mean for players and coaches?

Prayer is an important part of both programs, according to interviews with BYU players Gunner Romney and Isaac Rex, and Boise State’s Avery Williams. BYU’s post-game prayer typically takes place in the locker room, and Boise State holds one in the midfield each week.

“We’re kind of like this: we started with prayer, we will end with prayer and we will give glory to God,” said Thornton, who is the team chaplain.

He usually goes to the chaplain of the other school’s team before a game to invite opponents to join the Broncos for prayer in midfield afterwards, but he was unaware that BYU had a chaplain. team. That’s why BYU players started beating the blue turf on Friday night after the Cougars, then ranked ninth in the country, beat Boise State, 21st, 51-17.

Then Thornton reunited with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.

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

“Can we reach you?” Sitake asked. Then he called his players back to the 50-yard line.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

“I’m grateful for the coaches at BYU,” Thornton said this week. “We play 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 from the other team wanted to join us in prayer.

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

“I don’t know if an entire team has joined us before in the years that I’m here. It means a lot, ”he says.

Sitake said he wouldn’t have missed it.

“We’re not going to deny that, when a team invites our team to kneel down and praise God for the opportunity we have had to play,” he said. “What a great invitation from them. I was really impressed with them throughout the game, just a great program with wonderful sportsmanship and you know, I hope we can have that kind of impact on other programs when we play them as well.

The Friday prayer had added significance as it occurred in an emerging regional rivalry. The Schools have faced each other for nine consecutive years and have games scheduled in 13 of the next 14 seasons.

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

“Football is a competitive game, so you compete, you talk about trash, you fight against people on the pitch, but at the end of the day it’s, you know, it’s just a sport. There may be grudge on the pitch, but once you get off the pitch, they’re your brothers. You have to like them a little bit, ”said Romney of BYU, a 10th-ranked junior in the nation in receiving yards with 648.

“The fact that it’s such a great rivalry and that we can be really physical with each other, compete really hard with each other and then let go of our pride, let go of our egos, let go of what just happened.” for two to three hours and giving thanks, that says a lot about both schools, ”added Williams of Boise State, a speed demon who is the reigning Mountain West Conference special teams player with six touchdowns. career on punt and punt returns.

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

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

“I was on my knees next to him after the game and we prayed with the whole team. It was a really cool experience and something that I will never forget, ”said Rex, a tight end who caught two touchdown passes in the game and is now tied for 10th in the country with six touchdown catches.

Thornton liked this aspect of prayer with the teams.

“It’s a small world, you know?” he said. “We have guys from Utah and California whose friends are playing BYU. You are enemies, rivals during the game, but afterwards it’s like, “Hey, you know what? I’ll see you at Christmas ”or“ I’ll see you in the summer ”. So it’s great to ask them to bring everything back after the competition.

Thornton said he thanked for the opportunity to play the game. The two teams have seen their schedules modified by the pandemic. BYU is undefeated and now ranked No. 8 in the country. Boise State has dropped out of the top 25 but is 2-1 and still in control of his destiny in the Mountain West Conference championship race.

“We prayed for the guys who got injured on both sides of the pitch just for a quick recovery for them,” Thornton said. “We blessed BYU and just prayed that they would continue to have a great season, and that we would continue to have a great season as well.

Photo BYU

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

Thornton leads Boise State players in the Chapel the night before every game and joins in a player-led prayer with 95% of the squad in a clique after pre-game warm-ups. He said 15 to 25 players usually ask him to pray individually with them before the game starts.

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

Boise coaches focus on mind, body, soul and spirit, he added. Williams said Bronco’s coaches are men of God who join the team at the chapel, but the main defensive back said none of the coaches or players was pressuring anyone to pray or join the meetings. Chapel. Yet 85% to 90% show up.

Whimpey, linebacker and Latter-day Saints co-captain, is usually in the front row for the chapel, Thornton said. Confessional differences take a back seat to a common 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 greater than ourselves that we are all ready for.

Thornton, a Bronco player in 1984-85, played a role in guiding Boise State believers through the seasons of life.

“There’s just all kinds of emotions, all kinds of angst and things that the game doesn’t necessarily talk about,” he said. “The coaches are very keen on allowing us to have a chapel and encouraging prayer time and Bible study time.”

Prayer and scripture study are part of the BYU experience. Classes begin with a prayer, as does every event on campus, including games. Students are required to take religion classes as part of their general education.

“We pray before meetings every day,” Romney said. “In practice throughout the week we open ourselves with a prayer, and before the games we all get together to say a prayer, and then after the games we express our gratitude to God. It’s a really cool thing, and I think it brought us together as a team.

Holding the hand of an opponent, even one who has just beaten his team, is natural for Williams of Boise State.

“It’s pretty much a given to me,” he says. “We all understand that our faith is much bigger than football. At some point players will have to hang up their cleats and we won’t play at some point, but faith continues and faith continues and everyone realizes it. That’s why it’s not, “Oh, am I going to hold my teammate’s hand?” or “Am I really going to hold the hand of an opposing player?” It is obvious. Faith is much greater than this sport. “