article_snippet.sent: I can't remember anyone saying that such shows of religious devotion were out of place at a football match.
article_snippet.sent: As always before a sporting event of any size in the States, professional or high school, the crowd sang the national anthem lustily.
article_snippet.sent: but I don't recall anybody objecting when the spectators sang God Bless America.
article_snippet.sent: I don't recall anybody saying the spectators were inflicting the spectators religion on the non-Christians among the crowd.
article_snippet.sent: Players routinely congregate on the pitch before and after a match to pray.
article_snippet.sent: Javier Hernandez always dropped to Javier Hernandez knees to pray before kick off when Javier Hernandez played for Manchester United.
article_snippet.sent: but why is it that when two men pray quietly in a small corner of an English football ground that two men actions should be labelled a 'disgrace'.
article_snippet.sent: What exactly is noteworthy about two men praying on the concourse at Anfield during Liverpool's FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers last month?
article_snippet.sent: Why is it that when another group of supporters did the same thing at a West Ham match recently, another group of supporters actions were met with similar consternation?
article_snippet.sent: Let's be honest about this because there's a simple answer to the question of what unites these reactions: if you're Christian, it's OK to pray at a football ground.
article_snippet.sent: Expressions of Christian devotion at sporting events go unremarked.