Little children suffer and die, but God made sure Clemson won the national championship.

After Clemson’s win over Alabama in Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game, God received all the credit.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson explained the victory by declaring:

It’s what God wanted. He picked us for a reason.

In an interview with ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi, Watson said:

Man, it’s what God wanted. He picked us for a reason. Now, I talked to one of my coaches, and he said, ‘This is unbelievable, and it’s going to end the right way. Just keep believing in God and just believe in your teammates, and everything is going to fall into place.’ And that’s what happened.

Watson isn’t the only won who believes Clemson is God’s favorite college football team. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also attributed his team’s victory to God. Commenting on the win, Swinney said:

It’s indescribable. I mean, you can’t make it up, man. I mean, this is … only God can do this.

However, there is a dark side to Christian fetish at Clemson. Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) notes that the Clemson football team is overtly religious, and singles out Clemson coach Swinney for promoting an oppressive culture of Christian extremism:

Under Swinney, the football program at Clemson, a prominent public university in South Carolina, is overtly religious. The team has had a Christian chaplain. Players have been baptized in team facilities. And, as part of an annual “church day” event, the entire team and coaching staff attend a religious service. Swinney uses his position of considerable power to impose his personal religion on players, often under the guise of character education. FFRF has long opposed these measures and has worked to protect the rights of students who cannot speak up without jeopardizing their position on the team.

Previously the FFRF observed that there is “a culture of religious coercion within the university’s football program,” while providing ample examples of why this charge is true.

Yet despite the overwhelming and obnoxious culture of Christian extremism at Clemson (or maybe because of that culture) there are multiple “reports of racial slurs and videos of Clemson players grabbing their opponent’s’ genitals.”

Ultimately, there is nothing surprising about the boorish and all too common refrain offered by athletes and coaches who give their imaginary God credit for their trivial success on the field, while overlooking the fact that their same imaginary God allows little children to suffer and die in all manner of cruel and horrible fashion.

Bottom line: For success on the football field, opposable thumbs are much more relevant than imaginary deities.