Posted on 12/13/2012 12:23:29 PM PST by Gamecock
Bearded Nathan Grindal, 33, was enjoying the match between star champ Phil Taylor and Kim Huybrechts when some of the 4,500-strong audience spotted his likeness to the son of God.
Chants of "Jesus" quickly spread through the rowdy crowd, interrupting play at Butlins in Minehead, Somerset.
Security was called before six bouncers escorted upset Nathan from the Cash Converters Players' Championship, being shown on ITV4.
As he left a chant of 'Stand up if you love Jesus' broke out, with many of the boozed-up crowd getting to their feet.
Nathan, a labourer, was escorted to a nearby bar where security staff bought him a pint and told him to watch the rest of the final on the telly.
He saw the legendary Taylor win then found himself being asked to pose for signed photos with fans as they left the arena.
Nathan, who emigrated from his native Australia to Oxford six years ago, said: "I didn't go to the darts dressed as Jesus – I went as me.
"It was all very weird and distressing. I didn't break down crying but I did get emotionally distraught. They were bullying me and picking on me, saying that I was someone else.
"It would have been okay if the security hadn't made a fuss getting me out of the arena.”
Nathan, who began growing his beard four months ago, had booked a three-day stay at Butlins earlier this month with five pals to watch the darts.
He added: “In his post-match interview, Phil Taylor said something like 'if I ever see Jesus again, I'll crucify him myself.' Now that's just hurtful.
"I love darts, but I'm worried about ever going to see it live again, just in case the crowd turns on me like they did last time."
Dave Allen, spokesman for the Professional Darts Corporation, said Nathan was ejected to prevent his presence becoming a nuisance to the players.
He said: "There was a lot of chanting of Jesus and I think to avoid it becoming too much of a distraction for the players he was taken by security to another part of the complex."
Mr Allen added: "There is plenty of audience participation. They are encouraged to support the players within certain boundaries.
"The fact they can buy four-pint pitchers certainly helps."
Stupid, drunken Brits.... While we don’t have a clue what Jesus actually looked like in the First Century, He most assuredly looked nothing like that man...
But that doesn’t matter - Stupid drunken Brits will be stupid drunken Brits...
He grew that in 4 months? The guy's a hair machine!
Punchline to one of my favorite old jokes: "No, he KNOWS that he's Jesus. But he THINKS he's Jack Nicklaus."
Good thing he didn’t look like Mohammed. With all the Moose-limbs in Britain, they’d have beheaded him for blasphemy.
I think it’s great that fans shouted “Stand up if you love Jesus.” Maybe that’s the reason this guy was removed. Can’t have sponstaneous mass expression of the Christian faith in a public place, now can we?
This sounds odd for a country in which the churches on Sunday morning are largely empty.
And from the look of him, a truly impressive physical specimen - an athlete's athlete.
Well your team has Baseline Jesus.
Australians being oversensitive to a bit of joshing by Brits? Since when?
Well, according to the Bible, Abraham was an Aramaean nomad - and the Aramaeans' descendants are ethnic Syrians.
Riad Ismat, the former Syrian minister of culture, is considered to be a classic example of an ethnic Syrian (as opposed to an ethnic Arab).
Ismat has reddish-brown hair, a fair complexion and hazel eyes.
That's another way that we know he's not Jesus.
Jesus wept :)
Also, the prophet Samuel described David as ruddy (i.e. some Jews are fair-skinned.)
How many cups with that pitcher?
Cups? No cups.
The joke I heard ended “Oh, that’s God. He thinks he’s A.J. Foyt.”
Can someone point me to the scripture where Jesus’ appearance is described? As far as I know we do not know what Jesus looked like.
Never knew dart fans were such Hooligans!
And the one I heard ends: "Oh, that's just God playing Doctor"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.