Religion - Not Just For Church On Sunday Anymore

What's that passage of putting new wine into old bottles?
It seems that Rev. Joseph Lowery wasn't given the memo that the Obama campaign was about putting the issue of Race behind us.
"...and when white will embrace what is right."
(Going by a per-person measure - didn't more whites vote for Obama than Blacks?)
The old school preacher seemed to revert to an old mantra that has failed the progressive movement in it's earlier attempts to assert it's power.
Book-ended by the controversial Rev. Rick Warren, it seemed that Obama was intent on pleasing many but offending more.
On the whole, the benedictions went fine.
But c'mon Joe, let it go.
Race isn't the issue of the new era.
Opportunity, is.
Fighting oppression, is.
Justice, is.
Making racist remarks at the end of a hard fought victory is so 2008.
But what got me thinking about the place of religion in modern society was the spate of prayers before, during and after sporting events.
(Does anyone remember the guy in the variegated afro wig who would always hold up a "John 3:16" sign?
How did he always get such good seats?)

Former Philadelphia Eagle Herb Lusk is generally credited with the first on-field prayer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092702077.html
But a more etiological reference point is Slate's;
http://www.slate.com/id/74294/

I'm pretty sure that God isn't concerned that the Steelers will beat the Cardinals by 13 points in a couple of weeks.
But didn't Christ defeat sin in a sudden-death overtime?