re: 27% of Americans say God influences sporting events

This is a very deceptively vague poll. If you are a believer in God, and you believe in predestination, ergo you should believe that a higher being influences sporting events, as they are earthly occurrences.

The question isn't "Do you think God directly influences the outcomes of sporting events?"

Basically it boils down to "Do you believe in predestination, free will, or somewhere in between?" The commonly held logic, according to this poll, suggests that most people believe that a "God" has no interest in sporting events. Most people probably subscribe to this view without thinking about the notion of predestination.