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If I wasn't teaching a J-Term class right in which we cover a week's worth of material every day, I'd write something about this Cody Parkey thing. Instead, a few quick thoughts... chicagotribune.com/sports/footbal…
First, s/o to @CParkey36 for very publicly undermining recent claims I've made on this very site about evangelical sports ministry + success 😂
That the situation earned widespread approval from evangelical sports ministries shows that there is indeed room in that subculture for something beyond the "faith leads to on-field results" message sportsspectrum.com/sport/football…
On the other hand, the backlash to Parkey helps show us why evangelicals became so obsessed with linking their faith to on-field success. Parkey's coach, for one, is not at all happy with Parkey's eagerness to use his failure to promote his faith espn.com/nfl/story/_/id…
When evangelical sports ministries grew to maturity in the 1960s/1970s, they had to combat suspicion that evangelical players did not care about winning enough; that their obsession with religion made them soft
So they constantly emphasized the link between evangelical faith and on-field success, between evangelical faith and winning.
Here's one example among many in 1960s/1970s literature from evangelical sports ministries 
But even though evangelicals convinced most in the sports world that their faith was not a hindrance, the suspicion did not entirely go away. Here's Peter Gammons in 1979 offering his opinion of the problem with the San Francisco Giants, a notorious "God squad" at the time
In short, what evangelical athletes might see as a healthy dose of perspective can quickly be interpreted by coaches, teammates, and fans as a lack of competitive spirit
Evangelical athletes like Parkey are trying to use the spotlight (even in a loss) to do what they've been taught to do: display their faith. But those hurt by the loss can be turned off by that type of response; they can see it as self-aggrandizing or performative, not genuine
