11/05/24
November 29, 2010
Bills Receiver Blames God After Loss: After dropping what would have been the game-winning catch in overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson posted a message on Twitter blaming God. "I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO..."
Well, if God is going to get all the credit when teams win, it's about time he/she/it take some of the blame when a team loses.
It's only fair.
posted by grum@work at 08:37 AM on November 29, 2010
Just imagine how horrible his life would be if he didn't praise God 24/7. God would really get him then, just like he gets everyone who doesn't...um....
Never mind.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:51 AM on November 29, 2010
Detroit will tell you, god hasn't forgotten about that whole Christians / Lions thing.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 08:51 AM on November 29, 2010
God loves a 7th round doubter.
A little Old Testament for that excitable young man.
Too bad the game wasn't played up the road a few miles north. Then he could have dragged Queen Elizabeth into it as well.
Maybe he should go the extra mile and blame the entire Pentavirate.
Time to start charting the 2010-2011 seasonal snowfall totals for the greater Buffalo area to gauge God's reaction.
posted by beaverboard at 09:02 AM on November 29, 2010
Maybe I should be worried too. I have this fool on my fantasy team, could have used those points this week. I always blame loses on bad strategy and a little bit of bad luck, maybe I should be thinking bigger.
posted by dviking at 09:18 AM on November 29, 2010
Sounds similar to the plot from Buffalo '66
Maybe Steve Johnson can't find a place to piss on his endeavor to kill god.
Or dviking killing Steve Johnson.
posted by Ricardo at 09:24 AM on November 29, 2010
dviking is a piker. I can break any football player's knee. Just let me draft him to my fantasy team. It's because I'm not 24/7 with god.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:39 AM on November 29, 2010
Another instance of this "Twitter" B.S. giving individuals like Johnson a forum to prove, beyond any doubt, what fools they really are. And let's not forget the other 5 balls you dropped earlier in the game, Stevie. You were horrible and cost the Bills a big win in their dismal season. Fitzpatrick couldn't have run down the field and handed you a better ball than the one he threw you during overtime. But God wasn't looking out for you? You looked stupid enough dropping the ball, but way to go! You topped yourself with those comments.
What catchy phrase are you going to write on your t-shirt after this one?
posted by dyams at 09:52 AM on November 29, 2010
What catchy phrase are you going to write on your t-shirt after this one?
Rumor has it he's paid royalties to change his name to "He Hate Me".
posted by cixelsyd at 10:12 AM on November 29, 2010
God bless Steve Johnson for out-Onioning The Onion. It's about time someone called God out for these mental lapses -- dropped TD passes, bank failures and ... oh yeah, tsunamis and earthquakes.
You looked stupid enough dropping the ball, but way to go! You topped yourself with those comments.
I'd say he looks a lot stupider going public that he thinks an invisible man in the sky is controlling his life.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:03 AM on November 29, 2010
Athlete blaming God for defeat actually was an Onion headline some time ago. It does have a certain degree of internal logic.
posted by fabulon7 at 12:31 PM on November 29, 2010
Inspired by thoughts of "The Onion", I have searched for a couple of things to use here:
"And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules." (2Timothy 2:5)
"Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it." (1Corinthians 9:24)
Sounds like Steve Johnson might do a bit of Bible study to see if there are any more coaching points available. Otherwise, I think he'd best stop talking about how his faith is unrewarded. I can't believe Johnson has so little understanding of his beliefs or his football skills.
No, I haven't memorized these verses, I just have a study Bible with a good concordance.
posted by Howard_T at 02:02 PM on November 29, 2010
Another instance of this "Twitter" B.S.
And get off my lawn you whippersnappers!
Twitter is fine, no different than writing here, or on your own blog. If you're a fool it's going to come through. Thank you god for allowing us to see athletes/politicians/musicians without the middleman.
posted by justgary at 02:46 PM on November 29, 2010
Ryan Fitzpatrick should be the one screaming for divine intervention. The guy has played well this year, and again, that pass to the end zone was a thing of beauty. If anything, it may have been too perfect.
All in all, the Bills as a team have been playing much better, and their effort on the field has been fantastic. They are still lacking in the talent department, overall, but they play hard for four full quarters. Their comeback in Cincinnati, as well as yesterday's second half, point this out.
One more thing Bills-related: Ryan Lindell is a really good kicker. The guy is accurate, and that's saying something in Orchard Park. Anyone who has ever attended a game there knows how the winds swirl all over. I only wish he would have had a chance at a long kick in overtime to win the game.
posted by dyams at 02:48 PM on November 29, 2010
Not a Christian here, but this reminds me a bit of Job. In the original, ancient version of Job, there's no mention of God and Satan having some sort of bet over Job. Its just Job sitting on a garbage heap cursing out God. The lesson is allegedly that Job has a closer relationship to God than, say, another man because he believes God is somebody right there that he can talk to at any time.
To whit, having a conversation with God, even a critical one via Twitter, may actually be a greater sign of true faith than just assigning him thanks when you win. God isn't just a fair weather God.
Furthermore, you'll note that Johnson asks what he's supposed to learn from this. He believes it happened for a reason, but he can't fathom what that reason might be. Again, a mark of genuine faith - he's angry and he can't understand what God wants him to get from this, but he believes there must be a purpose.
Now, that all said, I just think he dropped a pass that he should have caught, but I'm an athiest.
posted by Joey Michaels at 03:05 PM on November 29, 2010
It appears god is not motivated by money. Since the spread was 6.5 points, whether or not the Bills won the game, the outcome of Gods bet was already determined once the game reached overtime. If he bet on the Bills he already won, if he bet on the Steelers he already had lost regardless as you cannot cover a six and a half point spread in overtime.
So God's only motivation must be that he is in fact a Steeler fan and was ensuring the Steelers victory. I suppose this is an omen that the Steelers are in for another ring since after all, God is paying attention to who wins in the NFL and actually is manipulating events toward a particular outcome.
posted by Atheist at 03:08 PM on November 29, 2010
This is one of those conversations that can only end with a line like, "You sayin' Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?" only it can't because this is football and not baseball.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:18 PM on November 29, 2010
"You sayin' Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
You sayin' Jesus Christ can't run a corner route?
posted by grum@work at 03:36 PM on November 29, 2010
Johnson was pretty hard on himself in his post-game press conference. He was saying that the Bills would get over this someday, but he never would. He will never forget how he failed to catch a pass in overtime against the Steelers, etc. All of this has made him more interesting to me. Calling God out? That's entertainment.
posted by bperk at 03:49 PM on November 29, 2010
A piker??? why you, I'll get you for that!
For the record, I also have Fitzpatrick on my team, though I benched him in favor of Vick. I might have actually had to go break Johnson's kneecaps if I had lost 12 points on that easy catch.
posted by dviking at 04:35 PM on November 29, 2010
Rumor has it he's paid royalties to change his name to "He Hate Me".
Shouldn't that be "He Smite Me"?
posted by Ufez Jones at 05:35 PM on November 29, 2010
So God's only motivation must be that he is in fact a Steeler fan
Then I truly am built in his image!
And as a steeler fan I'd like to point out the only reason the game was IN overtime was due to a steeler wr dropping an equally easy pass for a 1st down/probable td which forced them to settle for a fg instead during regulation.
posted by bdaddy at 05:43 PM on November 29, 2010
Honestly, that is out and out hilarious. I feel a bit for Johnson - only because he's clearly genuinely upset about the whole thing and reacting poorly like most young kids - but the questioning of God's plan with respect to professional athletes on Twitter - well that is so meta I just pwned myself. It's like eating your own head!
I especially love the ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!! THX THO...
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:20 PM on November 29, 2010
Stevie:
Congratulations. Your outburst prompted a new commandment.
"Thou shalt not blame the Lord thy God for gridiron f***ups."
(It's the 11th, I know, but just call them the Big Ten and you can use any number).
posted by roberts at 07:22 PM on November 29, 2010
You sayin' Jesus Christ can't run a corner route?
He's unbeatable on a wet field.
posted by Howard_T at 08:43 PM on November 29, 2010
I love how he disses God then tries to buy it back at the end with a thank you. You know God is going to make him pay for that in the next game, I bet he won't catch a single ball.
posted by irunfromclones at 09:21 PM on November 29, 2010
So, is God telling you how to bet now?
Come over here, let me write you a slip...
posted by owlhouse at 01:47 AM on November 30, 2010
"You sayin' Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"
Ahhh, the ol' Eddie Harris from Major League quote. It never gets old.
posted by BornIcon at 08:27 AM on November 30, 2010
Thats the only rational explanation I can think of.