A Good Night to be an Atheist

2008 July 14
tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
by CajoleJuice

Before I go any further, I should make it clear I am mocking a comment from former S.I. writer, new ESPN writer/commenter Rick Reilly at the Home Run Derby. And I like making attention-grabbing headlines. I look forward to comments from people that didn’t even read any of the actual post.

After Josh Hamilton crushed 28 home runs in the first round of the contest, and thanked Jesus afterward, Reilly actually said “It’s a lousy night to be an atheist.” He had earlier commented on the whiteness of the participants. I’m pretty sure ESPN lowered his mic at this point. If ESPN didn’t need to honor the massive contract they just gave him, Chris Berman might have been given the word to eat him right on the spot.

It’s pretty ludicrous for Reilly to make such a comment — as if Hamilton being religious would sour atheists’ enjoyment of the show he put on. Unless it’s a bitter, pathetic atheist, I don’t think Hamilton thanking God after his spectacular display made unbelievers want to cry or get pissed at what Hamilton chooses to believe. Plenty of athletes thank God or Jesus on national television. Although, what made Hamilton stand out was the fact that he thanked Jesus even after he lost to Justin Morneau (who no one will remember winning).

I find it hard to believe that God or Jesus would care about a Home Run Derby, but maybe they wanted to give him a glorious moment, and at the same time keep him humble enough to not start doing heroin again. (Didn’t you hear? He used to take drugs, apparently.) Or maybe he is just a beast that ran out of gas because the Home Run Derby is a painfully long process that no one cares about once a dude has one ridiculous round of 500 foot bombs. Whichever one you care to believe in, I’m sure we can agree that Joe Morgan is a moron.

He picked Chase Utley to win “because he’s a good line-drive hitter.” What. WHAT.

Related posts:

  1. Bad Announcing Team Opening Night
  2. Boston Shouldn’t Be This Good At Sports
  3. Johan Affirms His Deity Status

from → Sports, TV

  • Anonymous

    is Josh Hamilton the prospect that fell to drugs/coke?

  • Mike in IN

    Rick Reilly is not known for his logic skills, is he? If god is behind Josh Hamilton’s swing, isn’t that worse than cheating with steroids? I have no problems with Josh crediting god for keeping him clean. I also have no problem with a reliever crediting his success to hopping over the line when entering the game either, but it’d be equally ridiculous for an announcer to blame another pitcher’s bad outing on stepping on the line.

  • http://bigdumbchimp.blogspot.com Rev. BigDumbChimp

    Yeah it was a dumb comment. It wasn’t a lousy night to be an atheist (as i am one), it was a lousy night to be a Sportscaster. What an embarrassment he is.

  • Clint

    I’m an atheist AND a fan of Morneau and the Twins. That was an idiotic thing to say, and it’s a shame that born-again thumpers get so much press for no real reason.

  • Nick

    Pretty sure Reilly made some joke about steroids too. Is there a more inappropriate place to make a steroids joke than at an MLB event? Reilly is such an idiot.

  • choochoo

    Reilly…eat jim rome’s ass

  • http://thesomewhatmanlynerd.wordpress.com/ CajoleJuice

    I’ll try to address each comment:

    Anon: Yeah he was. I feel like maybe you were being sarcastic.

    Clint: Well, I wouldn’t call Reilly a born-again thumper — just an idiot. Or at least a writer that is out of his element on TV. And Hamilton is just a beast of a baseball player that also happens to be a very religious dude. He gets the press because of the former.

    I totally agree with everyone else.