While the College Football Playoff has become the dominant aspect of college football’s bowl season, the non-playoff bowls have upped their marketing games to remain relevant.
That means bowl games often become less about the 7-5 teams on the field and more about the bowl sponsor and their ability to go viral.
Think Pop-Tarts, Duke’s Mayo, Cheez-It, and… Jesus?
Jesus didn’t sponsor a bowl game this year but did show up in the form of a t-shirt on Saturday at the Bahamas Bowl.
Liberty Flames head coach Jamey Chadwell was seen sporting a t-shirt that read “Jesus won” during the game against the Buffalo Bulls.
If the head coach of any major football program will wear a shirt like that, it will probably be the one at Liberty, an evangelical Christian university affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and founded in part by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.
Unfortunately, while Jesus showed up in t-shirt form, he didn’t give the Flames the boost they needed to win on Saturday. Buffalo dominated the Bahamas-based bowl game en route to a 26-7 victory. Naturally, the disconnect between the t-shirt and the game’s outcome led to some fun responses on social media.
Jesus may have won but Liberty just threw a pick 6 to go down 26-0 to Buffalo
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Really might be my favorite football image ever
— Jason Kirk (@jasonkirk.fyi) January 4, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Liberty coach: How can we be even more unlikable?
Liberty Equipment Manager: Have I got the shirt for you
— CPAP-a the Rappa (@backfatgary.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Liberty doesn’t need to score, they’re perfectly happy to watch someone else do it
— actioncookbook (@actioncookbook.com) January 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Jesus invented the portal
— P Unit (@punittt.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 10:39 AM
strange place to advertise the result of the Sugar Bowl but ok
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.lol) January 4, 2025 at 8:40 AM
It’s ironic (or not ironic at all, depending on what you think) that Liberty, which literally wears its religion on its sleeves, is also a school mired in controversies related to some very un-Christian activities, including the time former football head coach Hugh Freeze harassed a sexual assault victim (one of 20 who sued the school).
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.