In our silly lil game, we sometimes see things pop in that we have no clue as to their Origin. They seem familiar, but we just can’t pinpoint from where. So that is why we decided to make a fun lil reminder out of it. To let you know just Where did THAT Come From?
Wowza… the Springfield Games hit our towns and its one interesting event fusing different things. One of the premium items offered for 75 donuts is Cristo de Springfield. I have to admit, I saw this offering and snatched it up faster than a TSTO-addicted Wookiee eats Cheetos and let me tell you, that’s pretty quick. It might be because visiting the real statue in Brazil is on my bucket list and that I’ve always been fascinated by the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue in Rio but I love this item.
Of course, I call it the big ol’ Jesus but it’s the same thing. Having it in my town seemed like a reminder of future travel plans. If it needs to be pointed out, the pseudo-Olympic nature of this new event surely inspired the designers to pull an icon from Rio De Janeiro for our games. But what the heck does this statue have to do with the Simpsons TV series? Where does in feature in the show? Well, no worries, I am happy to show you just where. Let’s head off to “Blame it on Lisa” (S13:E15), shall we?
In an episode about Rio de Janeiro that actually prompted the city to consider suing FOX and prompted an apology from the showrunners of the Best. Show. Ever., the Simpson family head to Brazil to try and find Lisa’s orphan boy she’d been sponsoring named Ronaldo. The two were corresponding frequently but letters suddenly stopped. Lisa is worried and arranged inexpensive air fare to Brazil with multiple layovers. Homer is easily convinced and the family is off on another adventure.
Is it any surprise that the giant statue of Jesus is seen in the episode? It’s actually the first thing they see upon arriving and looks a little different than what we have in the game. I just enjoy Homer saying, “Wow. It’s like he’s on the dashboard of the entire country.”
It’s also seen during Carnival.
To find a version that looks more familiar, we head to the other Simpsons go to Brazil episode aka “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee” (S25:E16). This episode starts with Lisa not being able to use her impressive speech about Madame Curie because Martin picked the same topic. As a hail mary, she chooses to speak about her dad’s willingness to red card her for diving as an example of heroism. The speech goes viral and prompts the Executive Vice President of the World Football Federation (“What you Americans call soccer” aka what “the guys at the dry cleaners get so excited about every four years”) to ask Homer to referee the World Cup as a symbol of integrity. This was actually quite topical since corrupt referees were in the actual news. The World Cup was held in Brazil that year so no surprise that we get a shot of the Big Jesus when our favorite family goes on an all expenses paid trip to the greatest sporting event in the world. No, not the 2008 Super Bowl, the World Cup. The new TSTO statue features when the games go to Rio De Janeiro.
You can also see a super tiny version when the family is visiting the grave of Il Divo.
If you want to read a full version of this episode, here’s the recap I did. So there you go friends. The origin of Cristo de Springfield which is actually a small version of a much bigger statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that I want to visit some day. What are your thoughts on it? Did you add it to your town? Have you ever been to the real thing? I placed mine in the backyard area of my First Church of Springfield.
Sound off with your comments and happy tapping my friends. You stay classy.
TTFN… Wookiee out!