Yesterday, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith made NFL headlines following a bizarre take.
The popular sports analyst and talk-show host said yesterday that if Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson played in a warmer city, he would have gone for 2,000 receiving yards last season.
"If Justin Jefferson played in a warmer city, he would have over 2,000 receiving yards," said Smith on First Take yesterday morning.
This news blew up when @PardonMyMeme tweeted a picture of the Vikings stadium saying,
"Stephen A Smith just said if Justin Jefferson played in a warmer city he’d have over 2,000 yards. Vikings play indoors. Kings stay kings."
The only problem with what Stephen A. (as he is affectionately known) said was the fact that the Vikings play indoors in a dome that's temperature is regulated. Minnesota is known for its frigid temperatures, but perhaps he didn't realize that the Vikings don't play outdoors.
The NFL's Twitterverse had several reactions to Stephen A's comments.
The Twitter user here re-tweeted the quote from above and also tweeted out a picture of the Vikings stadium showing that they play indoors.
.@stephenasmith: “If Justin Jefferson played in a warmer city, he would have over 2,000 receiving yards.”#Vikings stadium: https://t.co/tkg0cAEWvY
@AllDolphins13 tweeted out that somebody should remind the popular host that the Vikings play about nine or ten indoor games a season.
@stephenasmith said if Justin Jefferson played in a warmer city he would have 2k yards receiving. Who wants to tell him they are guaranteed to have at least 9 games indoors? 10 on alternating years…
Another individual shouted out Stephen A. for his bad take and even wondered why people were still listening to him.
Shout out to @stephenasmith for saying Justin Jefferson would have 2,000+ yards if he played in a warmer climate. Fun fact. The Vikings play in a dome. But y'all STILL listen to this goof.
@Wgabelman tweeted a compilation of Stephan A's bad/inaccurate football takes.
@PardonMyMeme Obviously you forgot about this gem:- Spencer Ware is out- Hunter Henry has been on IR all season- Chargers play in LA not SD- Derrick Johnson isn’t on an NFL roster youtu.be/Eo3_tVgp5IU
This Twitter user responded by calling the analyst an idiot.
Another fan responded by questioning whether Smith watches sports or not.
@PardonMyMeme has he watched any of the sports he covers in the last 3 years?
This Twitter user responded comically by saying if Kupp played in a warmer city, he'd have 3,000 yards.
@PardonMyMeme If Cooper Kupp played in a warmer climate he’d have 3,000 yards
@kenman1515 questions why people still listen to the talk-show host.
@PardonMyMeme Why do people still even listen to him or care what he says. It always just an absurd hot take for attention.
This Twitter user questions why Stephen A. is still on TV after being wrong a lot of the time.
@PardonMyMeme Why is that dude even on television? He gets stuff wrong all the time.
@scorpion111179 questions how cold it is inside an indoor stadium.
@PardonMyMeme Well how cold is it indoors there? Stephen A playing chess
Stephen A. Smith unsure of which teams play indoors in the league
Stephen A. is often known to have some light-hearted fun at the expense of others, so here we will do the same thing by giving him the list of the teams that play indoors in the NFL.
As of 2021, 11 teams play indoors: Vikings, Cardinals, Cowboys, Texans, Saints, Falcons, Raiders, Colts, Lions, and the Rams/Chargers. Apparently Stephen A. didn't know that the Vikings were one of those 11 teams.
While his take was a bit misguided, he still knows how good of a receiver Jefferson is. The former LSU receiver recorded 108 catches for 1,616 yards and 14 touchdowns in his second season in the league.
And who knows...maybe Jefferson will eclipse 2,000 yards receiving in a season. But if he does, to Smith's dismay, it will be mostly indoors.
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