Pittsburgh Steelers v New York Jets

This past Sunday, the biggest upset of the day was the New York Jets beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13. The result was a surprise because the Steelers had been riding a red-hot offense led by Ben Roethlisberger to a 6-3 record (before Sunday) while the Jets had been the Jets.

So, when the Steelers did lose to the Jets, Pittsburgh fans were looking for someone to blame and they found the perfect patsy – Justin Bieber.

Bieber had visited the Steelers Bible study on Saturday and there were some fans who attributed the Steelers loss to Bieber’s meeting with the team.

So, because all “distraction” narratives need to seemingly be rebuffed every time they pop up, Ben Roethlisberger actually had to address the issue on 93.7 The Fan. Believe it or not, the Steelers were not distracted by meeting Biebs.

“That’s not a big deal at all. For instance, [former Steelers wide receiver] Plaxico Burress stopped by. Obviously he’s family, but people stop by all of the time and say, ‘Hi,’ and we’ve had other athletes, actors, celebrities, stuff like that stop by. It’s not a big deal at all.”

“It was all fun for him and the guys. [Bieber] is one of the more popular guys for good or for bad in the country, so they had a chance to say hello and they did.”

The best part about this quote is how Big Ben hedges a bit when it comes to discussing Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber – “for good or bad in the country” sounds like the title to an academic thesis on modern sociology.

[ESPN] via [For the Win]