With Korea teetering on the edge of a hot war, an ecological disaster of unprecedented proportion and civil unrest in Jamaica (someone harshed their mellow) – just to name a few of todays headlines from other sources – CNN takes the time to fluff up its front page.
I usually get a little excited when I come across articles like this because I always have hopes for something so ridiculous it has to be discussed. Thankfully CNN is run by teams of drunken marmosets who like to fling crap at us. Before the Skeptical Moth epoch I would share links to cover page stories on the findings of bigfoot, chupacabra and aliens with just a few friends or spread it around facebook. Now I can ridicule CNN on a google archived medium.
I just do not understand the point of this article. John Blake doesn’t discuss an explanation for this phenomenon, offer an opinion, or ask any questions. Sure, he asks if God really cares who wins, but that question isn’t any more valid than asking if my dog (also fictional) cares what kind of car I drive (unless of course it is psychic! Seriously…people believe this). When I read articles like this I feel as if I am grading papers in a high school english class. There is no journalistic integrity, intelligent opinion or factual basis for the scribbling – there are just pretty pictures and words illustrating them. Setting the whole prayer and faith issue aside; athletes have always been known for their superstitions (another). The “acceptance speech” phenomenon undoubtedly falls under this category. After achieving a statistically small outcome (see hot hands), they are afraid of forgetting God in fear of magically losing their ability (not necessarily consciously). For some reason Blake restrains this article to only sports – perhaps he is intentionally playing into the massive demographic of American sports loving, bud-light swilling, christians – but clearly this is a reoccurring theme. At any awards ceremony God, Jesus or Allah is usually at the top of the thank-you list. Forget all that hard work and talent you might have, it was something or someone else. Abandoning all rational thought to a mystical being is a dangerous thing. This mindset is the same one that allows addicts to blame anyone but themselves (even if addiction is in part hard-wired), believe in faith healing, start a holy war, or let the Catholic church blame the devil.
CNN is flashing the lights and jingling the keys over the faces of their readers. Usually I leave it up to FOX news to insult my intelligence, but I am glad to know I have a choice in this market.
Not to mention the lack of consideration God gave to the opponent of the victor (despite whatever hard work and preparation they may have had).
If I ever have a health challenge I need to call upon God to help me with, I hope it’s not amputation!