False Sense of Maturity

Tonight, the first game of the World Series will be played between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. For the past decade, Tampa Bay has been a horrible team, and until this year, they were called the Devil Rays. Surely, the fact that the team has done well after dropping the “Devil” part is completely coincidental, but some people are saying that their success is the work of holy forces:

“I told my wife before the season started, ‘Whoever is in that organization made, to me, a very interesting decision,’” said Les Steckel, a former NFL coach and head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an evangelical ministry. “Six months later, look what happens.”

. . .

“You take the ‘Devil’ out of the Devil Rays,” said Boston shortstop Alex Cora, pointing to the sky, “and Jesus helps them out.”

A better theory would be that the Rays have had a good season due to the development of their younger players and because of savvy offseason trades. Besides, if God favors teams based on their names, why aren’t the LA Angels in the World Series?