Bill Murray's baseball team held an Atheist Game and angered the Baseball Gods
The St. Paul Saints cast off their religious moniker in favor of a more skeptical one Friday when the team held its annual Atheist Game. Begun in 2012, the event turns the team into the Mr. Paul Aints — dropping "St." in favor of "Mr." is a wonderfully subtle touch — for a whimsical night of disbelief sponsored by the Minnesota Atheists and Freedom From Religion Foundation.
As Fast Company noted, the team took to Twitter to have a little fun with critics of the promo.
So how do the Saints get away with staging such a blasphemous night? For one, the team is based in a deeply progressive part of Minnesota. And it's a cherished institution known for quirky promos, so one atheist-themed event isn't so weird alongside nights dedicated to nerds, Prince, and Tinder, among other things.
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It also helps that Bill Murray — yes, that Bill Murray — is a part owner, though the Saints' site amusingly lists him solely as "Team Psychologist."
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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