News from the NFL: Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers battled to the final seconds in a 24-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on this week's edition of Monday Night Football.
But, despite what many viewers thought, Rivers did not -- we repeat, did not -- punch and maybe murder a bird on live television.
[seealso url = "http://sale-online.click/2015/10/08/basketball-vines-back/"]
After one Chargers touchdown, ESPN cameras caught Rivers celebrating the score by punching, well, punching something out of the air. Here's the clip.
What the?! Was that a bird? Plenty of people thought so.
Am I high or did Phillip Rivers actually punch a bird out of the sky?! https://t.co/suzx4pWlQX— Roger Dorn (@RogerJDorn) October 13, 2015
PHILLIP RIVERS JUST PUNCHED A BIRD pic.twitter.com/QNq2oXbYes— #BeatTheCards. 3-2 (@Chargeee) October 13, 2015
Poor bird was minding it's business RT @Chargeee: PHILLIP RIVERS JUST PUNCHED A BIRD pic.twitter.com/LcXBFD5jJb— EL FOOSAY (@SheHatesJacoby) October 13, 2015
If you told me "Some athlete punched a bird." Phillip Rivers would be my first guess, sight unseen.— H. Jose Bosch (@HJBosch21) October 13, 2015
Lol I knew I wasn't seeing things. Rivers blasted that bird.— Zachary (@zathomas1930) October 13, 2015
There are plenty more tweets just like those out in the Internet wilderness, too. But here's the bad news (unless you are a bird enthusiast): Rivers did not actually punch a bird.
Closer inspections -- and, let's be real here, more rational minds -- have since determined that what Rivers actually did after the touchdown was remove a glove he wore on his non-throwing hand to then punch it out of the air.
Which is still pretty freaking weird.
Here's a photo of Rivers with the glove on his hand on Monday night, for the skeptics out there.
Still -- because of course -- there will always be Rivers truthers.
Nothing anyone can say can convince me Phillip Rivers didn't punch a bird last night.— Brian P. Hickey (@BrianPHickey) October 13, 2015
Now, if you actually want to see a pro athlete murder a bird during a live game, here's Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson doing the damn thing in spring training on March 24, 2001.
Technically that's not bird murder, though. More like involuntary manslaughter. Or involuntary bird-slaughter, to be precise.
Johnson has since put guilt behind him and moved on to a successful second career as a photographer. His watermark? A dead bird, or course.