s it prayer, or something else? Ask many people who are upset about the recent 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, and they will tell you that prayer and football go together in Texas, that it is a tradition, and that ordering people to refrain from public praying violates their constitutional freedom. For many, the 5th Circuit decision ruling which found that high school athletic events are not the proper venue for public worship, is part of a larger trend to exclude religious belief from the public square.

   For others, redefining religion as a gavel, or even a welcome wagon, is better than banishing it.

   Last week, there were again sporadic protests throughout Texas over the issue of pre-game religious invocations. In Van, the local Ministerial Alliance brought its own public address system to the Friday night high school face-off. When school superintendent Mark Pool called for a moment of silence prior to kickoff, a 17-year old student began leading the crowd in prayer. Scott Dornbush, pastor of the local United Methodist Church, told the Dallas Morning News, "It's our PA system. We're not violating the law."

   ¶    In Athens, Texas, a high school football player -- who just happened to be the son of the local Baptist Church pastor -- was slated to lead the crowd in singing the National Anthem. Senior Lineman Ryan Greenawalt decided to use the occasion to also recite a "brief and unscheduled prayer," according to the Athens Daily Review newspaper. The crowd "burst into an uproarious ovation following Greenawalt's emotional invocation," noted the Review. "It was several moments, in fact, before it quieted down enough for the teen to launch in (sic) the National Anthem..."

   "I never thought the crowd would react that way," said Greenawalt. "I knew some people thought banning prayer was wrong, but I never guessed it would get that reaction. I didn't tell anyone I was going to do it, and it wasn't something I did for show. When I was asked to sing the National Anthem, God began to show me it was something that needed to be done..."

   Prior to Mr. Greenawalt's spontaneous religious outburst, a small crowd huddled outside the high school stadium to pray.

   ¶    Several schools in Henderson County have replaced the traditional pre-game invocation with a "now-popular moment of silence or reflection," notes the Athens Review.

   ¶    A number of "spontaneous" protest at football games have taken place in Stephenville. Last week, the Board of Trustees of the Stephenville Independent School District grappled with a policy which would permit a student selected by popular vote to deliver a pre-game "message," provided certain rules were observed. The local Empire-Tribune newspaper noted: "The rules are that the purpose of the message is to encourage good sportsmanship and student safety and to promote the proper environment for the competition... The message may also be used to welcome or greet fans and the opposing team and/or to commend them for their achievements."

   While one board member mused that the new policy "would legally create an open forum for a period of time designated for the message and designate a place for the student message," another member saw through the obfuscation. Referring to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court decision disallowing pre-game prayer, he told fellow board members: "This is the law today whether we like it or not. Until this is cleared up, I personally think we go against the law if we allow student prayer, or any prayer, before the game..."

   According to the Washington Post, "several" unidentified school boards continue their policy of allowing, even encouraging, student-led prayer at high school athletic contests. The General Counsel for the Texas Association of School Boards said that she has received "hundreds of angry calls," adding "You're mixing two of our most emotional issues, football and prayer."

   Why the close association? And why has the ruling by the 5th Circuit caused so much frustration, even anger, in small communities throughout Texas?

   While the saying that "football is a religion" in the Lone Star State is hyperbole, the high school gridiron contests are a cherished cultural tradition. Weekend games became popular early in this century as "a post-harvest pastime," notes Post writer Paul Duggan. Indeed, one of the definitive histories of Texas high school ball is titled "Pigskin Pulpit."

   Author Ty Cashion notes that in 1920, 4.5 million people lived in Texas, and most of them were likely "God-fearing." Many high school teams were scraped together from small agrarian communities which came to identify themselves by the successes or failures of the Friday night football match. "It was the only game in town," notes Cashion.

   Even the judge in the 1995 case which challenged the high school game invocations recognized the compelling linkage of football, community identity, and religion. Ironically, that case was filed by two Santa Fe, Texas families who were "outsiders" in respect to the religious profile of the state -- one was Mormon, the other Roman Catholic. Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court noted that while the great majority of youngsters growing up in small, rural Texas communities aspired to college and professional careers, "The reality is, a whole lot of them won't..." As a result, the high school experience, especially the emotionally charged world of competitive football, "is the apex of their social function. It is a very big deal to the community (and) the whole community turns out..."

   There are other stressors as well. While the state remains dotted with these same rural towns, the cultural and economic profile is changing. Texas counties have had their share of fights over chain stores like WalMart moving in and threatening local family owned businesses. The internet, cable television and other incursions of modernity have brought their problematic blessings and doubts as well.

   "We're not a state full of Southern Baptists anymore," observes Cashion. "You have people who've moved here from all over the country, from Asia, the Middle East, all over the world." He adds that "being exposed to this kind of old-fashioned, southern Protestant culture, I'm sure it's a shock, and some people no doubt find it an affront."

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