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Has Falcons New QB Michael Pelix Jr Really Devoted His Life To Church Of Flying Spaghetti Monster? Exploring Viral Claim
A viral post about Michael Penix Jr devoting his life to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti is making rounds after he was drafted by the Falcons. What is his religion? Have a look.
Michael Penix Jr was chosen by the Atlanta Falcons as an unexpected 8th pick during the 2024 NFL Draft last Thursday. This surprising move has left even Kirk Cousins, who was signed by the franchise earlier this year, completely shocked.
Interestingly, the NFL team seems to be considering the Washington quarterback as a potential successor to the former player from the Minnesota Vikings. However, amidst all the buzz, there is a viral claim circulating online about the 23-year-old.
It suggests that he has dedicated his life to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Let's take a closer look and debunk this viral claim.
Claim of Michael Penix Jr devoting his life to the Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster goes viral
A user with @u/nfl_gdt_bot on Reddit has claimed that Michael Penix Jr has devoted his life to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by posting a card which has around 8k upvotes and 3.2k comments as of this writing.
Firstly, what is it? According to the official site of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, it is “one of the fastest growing religions in the world,” with people from more than 60 countries around the world being members of it. It is also called Pastafarianism. 
As per the Guardian's report, the religion came to life through an invisible Monster with a tangle of spaghetti and two meatballs creating the universe after excessive drinking. The religion was earlier kept hidden for several years by the worshippers, mainly the pirates, but now, the world is slowly coming to know about it.
In 2005, Bobby Henderson introduced this religion that he claimed was just as legitimate as other religions. This came about in response to the Kansas State Board of Education allowing the teaching of intelligent design in science classes, which Henderson, a physics graduate, strongly opposed.
Now let's go back to the viral claim. Is the newly drafted Falcons quarterback a devotee of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Has Michael Penix Jr devoted his life to the Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster?
As per Wikipedia, Michael Penix Jr is a Christian. During his interview with Pac12 Network last year in August, the former Washington quarterback talked about his faith in god. The 23-year-old thanked god without any mention of Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
He told the aforementioned channel, “I’ve just got to give credit to the man upstairs and thank God for everything he put me through and allowing me to get to the spot I am today.”
He mentioned “the man above” and “god” for helping him out through hard times and giving him strength, power and will to overcome the hardships and become what he is today. Before he was signed for Washington, the player suffered season ending ACL injuries, dislocated shoulder and clavicle injury which required surgery.
However, he took control and overcame obstacles despite struggling physically and mentally when he would just “lay on the floor and pray to God to protect” him. The new member of the Falcons squad will now be an eventual successor to Cousins, as a possible long-term solution for the franchise.
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