Pray for the Win — Faith, Fandom, and Pope Leo XIV

Religion has shown up in multiple ways throughout sports and sports fandom over the years; prayer circles with players before and after games, the last second prayer to win during clutch time, yamukas with team logos on them, and of course… Tebowing. Who didn’t Tebow back then?

There was always an interplay between faith and fandom, yet on May 8, 2025, the connection became even more intertwined…

We’ve seen Popes before use sports as a way to promote teamwork and unity over the years, but to have a Pope that has come out and said he’s a fan of one team, and on top of that come from the sports obsessed USA, has been a topic of unique interest over the last couple of weeks. Even as I record this episode on May 28th, there’s been jerseys with Pope Leo’s name on it, he’s met with Serie A champions Napoli at the Vatican, and now he’ll be delivering a “special video message to the young people of the world,” at a special Mass celebrating his pontification at Guaranteed Rate Field, the HOME of the White Sox.

This week, I wanted to dive into this phenomenon a little more to understand the role religion plays in sports fandom, how White Sox fans have reacted to one of their own being the leader of the Catholic Church, and how the Church and Fandom can learn from each other.