September 22, 2015

"Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ All-World quarterback with Berkeley pedigree and long established hipster’s snark, threw some shade on Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson..."

"... after Green Bay’s 27-17 victory on Sunday. In the post-game version of sub-tweeting. Rodgers commented that God 'was a Packers fan tonight,' as he seemed to visibly fight a grin. Rodgers’s comments, subtle as a blowtorch, are being read as a direct response to the garrulously religious Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s comments after last year’s truly 'miraculous' come-from-behind playoff win over the Pack when he said that a Higher Power made him throw four interceptions because, 'That’s God setting it up, to make it so dramatic, so rewarding, so special.'"

That's Dave Zirin in a piece at The Nation titled "Getting God Out of Football/Believers and non-believers alike should welcome Aaron Rodgers’s and Arian Foster’s dissent against the constant invocation of Christ in football."

I really don't care one way or the other whether football players attribute their fate to God. It's the kind of religion I put under the tag "lightweight religion." I'll join your effort to shush the God-talk from football players, Nation, if you first make it a thing to shame the casual "omigod"/"OMG" exclamations out of common speech. That's even more lightweight. Should we take offense or let it go?

I think The Nation just doesn't like football, and, sure enough, the truth comes out in the end, where we hear of the sport's "filthy underbelly" and "brain injuries" and "boozing and bacchanalia."

Bacchanalia. Who talks like that? People who build an argument on the idea that the person whose position they want to endorse has a "Berkeley pedigree." Rodgers didn't just go to Berkeley. He has a "pedigree." Yeesh. And as for "hipster’s snark" — the phrase that caused me to open up a "new post" window — when has Aaron Rodger's ever been considered a hipster? Hipster! Ridiculous.

And by the way, Rodgers actually was subtle:



Nothing blowtorch-y at all about that.

52 comments:

Michael K said...

Oh, if The Nation said it ...

MayBee said...

I love it when people (in this case, The Nation) think they are making a great argument while hiding their true feelings. But their true feelings are so strong, they fool no one.

It isn't passive aggressive. What is it?

MadisonMan said...

Why use 50 words to make a point when 1300 will do? Another person paid by the word, I'm guessing.

Curious George said...

More to the point the ref's were Packer fan's Sunday night.

Patrick said...

From what did the phrase "throwing shade" originate?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

To us Patriots fans, Bacchanalia is a heavy-weight religion!

lgv said...

Aaron Rodgers is not a hipster. I would also like to know more about "hipster's snark". Is snark part of the hipster persona, like a vest? I am unaware of snark as being a hipster. Pass the beard wax and snark, please.

buwaya said...

The Nation is an organ of the intelligentsia's class struggle against the middle class.

ndspinelli said...

Liberals use people. For Rodgers, this was more payback about beating Wilson than it was about religion. I played football for a Catholic HS in the 60's. Our Jesuit principal would lead a prayer before every game. The priest said to us the same thing Rodgers said, "God doesn't care who wins football games." The prayer our priest would say was simple. That we ask God help us to help each other on the field and in life, and that no one on the field, for both teams, sustain an injury. Oh, and Zirin is a horseshit sports reporter, putting his secular/progressive politics aside.

Sebastian said...

"Bacchanalia. Who talks like that?"

Progs enraptured with their own sophistication. I think you know a few.

Blowtorch, needle, what difference, at this point, does it make? Anything that serves to reinforce the anti-con, anti-American narrative will do.

Since God can never be on the side of the white oppressor, I'm disappointed that The Nation didn't spot the white privilege, though.

Nonapod said...

Your whole "lightweight religion" thing reminds me of that old SNL sketch with Sally Field and Phil Hartman.

ndspinelli said...

Some non Italians might confuse Bacchanalia w/ dried/salted codfish cooked w/ tomatoes and served traditionally on Christmas eve.

campy said...

This is Aaron Rodgers the admitted ball-inflation cheat, right?

trumpintroublenow said...

Campy. He only said that he prefers over-inflated balls. He never said he had any involvement in over-inflating balls. Even a die-hard Patriots fan should see the former is not cheating

Titus said...

My husband had to fly to Atlanta on Friday to have dinner with a client. The restaurant's name was Bacchanalia....how weird.

Rodgers is hot.

CJinPA said...

There was a comedian who years ago poked fun at receivers thanking Jesus for a win. "Why don't they ever blame Jesus for a loss? 'I was wide open but the quarterback never threw me the ball. Thanks a lot, Jesus.'"

CJinPA said...

Your whole "lightweight religion" thing reminds me of that old SNL sketch with Sally Field and Phil Hartman.

Classic.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

"There was a comedian who years ago poked fun at receivers thanking Jesus for a win. "Why don't they ever blame Jesus for a loss? 'I was wide open but the quarterback never threw me the ball. Thanks a lot, Jesus.'"

Being a Christian means staying faithful, regardless of the circumstances.

But I agree with the Professor on this one. Thanking God for winning a football game does tend to trivialize religion. To me it seems to be part of "prosperity gospel" thinking that God's gonna reward you on earth if you follow certain rules.

Guess those Christians in the Middle East and North Korea just don't love God enough.

Psota said...

Didn't Wilson graduate from University of Wisconsin at Madison? That's as much of a hipster with pedigree as Berkeley, actually more so.

And gotta love the Arian Foster shout out. ESPN ran a story about his atheism one day and the next he endured a season ending injury. God's in the mix.

ndspinelli said...

Wilson spent his senior year @ UW. He's from Virginia, the son of an attorney, and spent his first 3 years @ NC State. I like the kid. But, he's over the top w/ the religious/victory talk. That said, it's his right to preach and it's our right to blast him for it.

damikesc said...

Rodgers --- clutch when the game matters least.

"There was a comedian who years ago poked fun at receivers thanking Jesus for a win. "Why don't they ever blame Jesus for a loss? 'I was wide open but the quarterback never threw me the ball. Thanks a lot, Jesus.'"

I remember that guy. "We were going to win...til Jesus made me fumble. He hates our team."

ndspinelli said...

Wilson is also a good baseball player and was drafted by the Rockies.

traditionalguy said...

This just in: God loves football so much that he allows Aaron Rodgers to win occasionally to make it more interesting and sell ads. Truth be known soccer the divine favorite...ask the Pope. Norte Dame football must be an aberration like Rodgers.

Larry J said...

I remember hearing in Colorado that "God loves the Broncos so much he made the sunsets orange and blue."

Unfortunately, He didn't love them enough to let them win more than a couple Superbowls.

MadisonMan said...

More to the point the ref's were Packer fan's Sunday night.

The ref's what? And the fan's what?

walter said...

Bachannalia?
How about "garrulously"?

But yes..hipster snark is not what comes to most folks' mind.

I just wish sports were treated like any other form of entertainment..instead of the religion it became.

Gusty Winds said...

Aaron Rodgers is not a hipster.

I agree. Where did that come from? That's like calling him a deuchbag. He is however, at the top of his game and if the team stays healthy, it's going to be a fun season.

Obviously the Good Lord is a Packer Fan.

Since 1992 he has blessed us with two Hall of Fame starting Quarterbacks. That's a 23 year run so far; longer than the Montana-Young combo for the Niners.

madAsHell said...

deuchbag

It's either Deutsch bag, or douche bag. The little red lines under the word are a hint.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Last night it was an episode of The Big Bang Theory followed by 45 minutes of Barclay's Premier League.

Just right for a workout night.

averagejoe said...

He's gone Hollywood. The B-list actress girlfriend has been a bad influence.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I have to watch The Big Bang Theory pretty much the same way I watched Mad Men. You need to use your brain to surgically remove the stuff intended for the cheap seats.

"Take what you like and leave the rest."

That was advice given to me a long time ago intended to help me avoid getting annoyed by annoying things that are annoying.

It pretty much works, surprisingly.

Roughcoat said...

I prefer Deutsch bag, In the context it seems appropriate.

Also like "Norte Dame" in a TG's post. Made me giggle, can't say why.

Roughcoat said...

"There are a lot of Deutsch bags at Norte Dame."

walter said...

"The B-list actress girlfriend has been a bad influence."

Maybe..but it may have helped quash the gay rumors.

Lipperman said...

Didn't Wilson graduate from University of Wisconsin at Madison?

No.
Wilson graduated from NC State in three years in May 2010 with a BA in communication, and took graduate-level business courses in the fall semester during the 2010 football season.

Bay Area Guy said...

God loves football!

The Packer loss to Seattle last season in the playoffs was pretty devastating. I think Rodgers, skillfully, without going over the top, appropriately dished some back to Wilson. Subtle and effective -- gotta love those Berkeley kids.

Skeptical Voter said...

Berkeley pedigree? Like a lot of us who have a Berkeley pedigree, I tend to think of it as sort of like the crazy uncle you keep in the attic--and don't let company see.

If you asked Aaron Rodgers whether he had a "Berkeley pedigree", he'd laugh in your face.

traditionalguy said...

Berkeley is another breed. Ask the psychologists who have to meet their needs. So pedegree is the he right word.

averagejoe said...

walter said...
"The B-list actress girlfriend has been a bad influence."

Maybe..but it may have helped quash the gay rumors.

9/22/15, 10:37 AM

LOL! He does have a beard now.

Anonymous said...

Some of the football players attending UCB were dumb as boxes with writing skills on the fourth grade level. Not saying this is the case with Rodgers, but football players exist in their own ecosystem.

damikesc said...

Since 1992 he has blessed us with two Hall of Fame starting Quarterbacks. That's a 23 year run so far; longer than the Montana-Young combo for the Niners.

Total Super Bowl wins in that time frame? 2.

jeff said...

Rodgers: Hey Russell, knock knock

Russell: Who's there

Rodgers: Owen

Russell: Owen who?

Rodgers: 0-2

J Lee said...

The writer for The Nation is likely the kind of guy who not only goes out of his way to hate on any player in the NFL who is openly religious, he's also no doubt the kind who would walk into a bar or restaurant on a fall Sunday afternoon and demand that the big screen TV in front of him be switched to whatever channel was showing an English Premiere League replay or some other European futbol event while all the other patrons want to watch the Packers, the Seahawks or whatever team is the local favorite.

Otto said...

"I'll join your effort to shush the God-talk from football players ...." You go get them Jersey princess.
What arrogance and snobbery.

DannyNoonan said...

"Thanking God for winning a football game does tend to trivialize religion."

I think it trivializes football.

Richard Dolan said...

Odd that so many get riled up by God-talk. So what if some players view their success (and, one supposes, lack of success) through a religious lens? If that's not your thing, fine -- no one is saying that anyone else has to agree. The virulent anti-God-talk team needs to give it a rest. Or, like Rodgers, join in for the fun of it all.

And this nugget in the article is delusional: "Yet the locker-room incursions of groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action have turned college and pro football into religious spaces controlled by a very political strain of Christianity, one that demands that its adherents use their athletic platform to praise Jesus at every turn." College and pro football are "religious spaces"? Who knew, but thanks for telling us.

On this as on so many other issues, dissent (especially visible, vocal dissent) from the Received Truth is not to be allowed. And the Received Truth is that God is dead (if something that isn't can be said to have died), and has nothing to do with anyone's success or failure. Perhaps someone should find a way to sue all these crazy God-talking football players under RICO. That seems to be an idea about how to shut down any deviation from Received Truth making its way through progressive circles these days.

mccullough said...

Wilson has been to two Super Bowls and won one in his first three seasons. In his first two three seasons, Rodgers was a backup. God was watching.

ganderson said...

Art Donovan, an old timer from the fifties was once asked if they prayed before games. He said something like "yeah- we prayed that nobody would get hurt. We figured Jesus didn't really care whether the Colts beat the Bears". Also two things that writers for and readers of the Nation hate are religion and football.

MadisonMan said...

In his first two three seasons, Rodgers was a backup. God was watching.

God was a Favre fan?

Valentine Smith said...

The truth is players rarely, if ever, mention Jesus. God however does get more frequent nods for efficacy, and yet they too are few and far between because athletes by and large are savage pagans who more or less invoke the likes of thor and zeus and on the distaff side hera is frequently called on for strength athena too i understand but the big favorite I've been led to believe is actually persephone who signifies Spring and vegetative fecundity and thats about all the players in the wnba can hope for is broccoli miraculously from their barren bellies.

J said...

Strangely enough when Jesus is mentioned in football nobody here has linked it to the tremendous motivation to stay on the straight and narrow that is religion.Many of those now playing would be snorting and huffing if not just despairing without that motivation


D.D. Driver said...

"Nothing blowtorch-y at all about that."

Well, the two players had a very public back and forth about whether God cares about football games last winter. Rodgers' postgame poke at Wilson was in no way subtle and anyone who followed the tit-for-tat knew that Rodgers was trolling.