Jon Kitna: Hand of God Helped Me After Concussion

Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna was seemingly out of the game for good with a concussion in the second quarter this past weekend. The trainers checked him out. They followed procedure. They said he was ok to play in the second half. Kitna came back in the fourth quarter and helped led his team to a 20-17 victory in overtime against the Minnesota Vikings:

[Lions head coach Rod] Marinelli said it was up to the doctors — who said Kitna had a “very, mild concussion — to walk the fine line between listening to Kitna and protecting him.

“They were overly cautious and they went through everything they’re supposed to do,” Marinelli said. “Even when Jon wanted to come back, they held him down until they were convinced and felt good about it.”

After the game, Kitna had this to say:

“I’ve never felt anything like that, and for it to clear up and go right back to as normal as I can be, is nothing short of a miracle,” Kitna said. “I just definitely feel the hand of God. That’s all it was. You can’t explain it.

I would’ve thanked the trainers. But that’s just me. I’m sure doctors could provide an explanation. As far as football hits go, Kitna’s didn’t sound too terrible.

Anyone else think the quotation would’ve been much funnier if they had lost the game?

Kitna’s the same guy who was fined (the fine was later revoked) a few years ago for wearing a cap with a cross following a game. The NFL rules state that only official NFL apparel can be worn during post-game interviews.

(Thanks to HappyNat for the link!)

[tags]atheist, atheism, Cincinnati Bengals, sports, football[/tags]

Andy

I don’t think even the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have needed God’s help to beat the Vikings.
Secular Planet

Anyone else think the quotation would’ve been much funnier if they had lost the game?

I thought of it right when I was reading the outcome, anticipating that we wouldn’t be hearing about this if they had lost.
Rob

This past Sunday one of the networks ran a story about that New England Patriots guy who was seriously injured, but recovering pretty well. Four (4!) different broadcasters in a row thanked God Almighty for helping him. The first report was the actual “news” of what happened and it began with “Through the help of God and modern medicine … ”
sigh.
HappyNat

I saw that too, Rob. The science used to save the guys life, let alone give him hope to walk again, was amazing and yet god and paryers got mentioned 10 times more than the doctors . . .sad.
Brendon

Even if I do something really great, God should get the recognition first!

Who am I to hog the limelight and why should I or anyone else feel put out if God is thanked?
Karen

Who am I to hog the limelight and why should I or anyone else feel put out if God is thanked?

If you don’t want to take credit for your own accomplishments, that’s your prerogative.

But if someone’s recovery is due to science and medicine and physician skill and diligent research and important funding for that research, and all that combined human effort isn’t recognized, or mentioned only marginally, that’s not right, is it? Every time someone points out the importance of science, and gives credit to it for improving lives, there’s a bump up in public policy and public perception of science. And that’s important for society.