Fans of The Good Place know the name Blake Bortles because he's constantly being referenced by the show's lovable idiot Jason Mendoza. What some fans didn't know apparently is that Blake Bortles is the actual quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Non-football loving viewers were alerted to this recently when the quarterback's poor in-game performance led to him trending on the internet. Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani was one of the first to react and seemed somewhat shocked by the news.
The tweet quickly gained traction as several fans of the actor and the show replied admitting that they too thought Blake Bortles was an imaginary person. There were others who replied who did know, although admitted they had found out about him first through Jason Mendoza's hero worship rather than by watching the NFL. Apparently, the crossover between those who watch football and those who watch The Good Place isn't incredibly high.
As far as how so many people could be oblivious to Blake Bortles' existence, that remains a mystery. The quarterback was just in the news earlier in the year when he and the Jacksonville Jaguars went up against the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship title. The Jaguars came up short and missed the Super Bowl, however, which may be why Bortles remained a fictional character to some until just recently.
For what it's worth, it's not incredibly surprising so many people would make this mistake. The Good Place just recently featured Larry Hemsworth, who is the completely fictional brother to the famous Hemsworths. If The Good Place can create an imaginary Hemsworth with a complex he'll never be as successful as his brothers, a fictional quarterback would be a walk in the park.
Some fans' assumption the Jacksonville quarterback didn't exist may be rooted in his name. Blake Bortles sounds like the type of name a television writer could make up, especially a writer capable of the clever twists and turns The Good Place often delivers. In fact, there are some who know Blake Bortles exists, but frequently confuse his real name with the fake identity Jason Mendoza created while in The Bad Place.
Now that more fans than ever are in on the Blake Bortles joke, surely requests will come flooding in for the actual Blake Bortles to appear on The Good Place. That seems like a possibility with the characters currently on Earth, and Jason being given a majority of Tahani's inheritance. He now has more than enough money to pay Bortles for at least a meet-and-greet if he wanted, and maybe even a full-fledged hangout session!
Of course, this is all reliant on Blake Bortles and his willingness to appear on The Good Place. It's currently not known what the Jacksonville quarterback thinks of the show, or if he's aware of the references it's made about him. Let's hope he does because an episode where Jason finally meets his hero could be the best episode the series has ever done. It'd also be good PR because clearly he needs more exposure outside the world of sports.
The Good Place airs on NBC Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET. Check out what other shows are airing over the next couple of months by visiting and bookmarking CinemaBlend's fall premiere guide.
For a look at the real Blake Bortles and some background as to why he's been in the news a lot lately, check out the video on the next page.
