Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow is a quarterback for the Denver Broncos. How good a quarterback is a matter of some heated debate.
Normally, this wouldn’t register much attention outside the confines of the state of Colorado and wouldn’t merit a post on a political website in New Mexico but this Tebow guy has become one of the most talked-about people in the country. Some say he’s the most polarizing figure in sports. That’s incorrect. Tim Tebow is not polarizing. What we’ve got is a society that is increasingly polarized and Tebow is merely a reflection of that.
Part of the passion Tebow generates comes from being a player whose skills do not align with those of a prototypical NFL quarterback.
There are and have been plenty of quarterbacks in league history who were raw and unpolished (Bobby Douglass, who could run over a linebacker like a bruising fullback but who had the touch of a blacksmith when it came to tossing passes to his receivers) and some who just didn’t fit the mold (Doug Flutie, who was ridiculed by some of his own teammates for his lack of height) but when it comes to Tebow, some NFL analysts practically burst a blood vessel.
Merril Hoge of ESPN on August 21: “If the Denver Broncos were to start him as a starting quarterback, they would lose the respect of every player on that team.”
Boomer Esiason on August 23: “”[Tebow] can’t play. He can’t throw … What (former Broncos coach) Josh McDaniels saw in him God only knows. Maybe God does know — because the rest of us don’t.”
The God thing — now that’s where the real hating comes in. Tebow is an evangelical Christian.
“When people ask me, I let them know that I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I’m not ashamed of that and never will be,” Tebow said earlier this season when he was just a third-string quarterback for the Broncos.
But after Denver stumbled and lost four of its first five games, the Broncos coaching staff made Tebow the starter and since then, the Broncos — with their rough around the edges quarterback — have won five out of six and have become a playoff contender.
Tebow’s supporters are jubilant; his detractors, many who despise him strictly because of his religious faith, are beside themselves.
That’s a harsh thing to say but it’s true.
Yes, Tebow invokes Jesus’ name during interviews and that grates on the nerves of many who think that God has better things to ponder than sports.
But guess what? Athletes have been doing that for years. Kurt Warner praised Jesus on national television when picking up the Super Bowl trophy. After every single NFL game, players from both teams gather at midfield and pray. In baseball, many players from Latin America give the sign of the cross when stepping into the batter’s box. During my days as a sports anchor, I worked in Phoenix for a time and there was an All-Pro defensive back named Aeneas Willliams who began every interview — live or on tape — by praising his Lord and Savior.
Courtesy AP
While at the University of Florida, Tebow painted Biblical verses on his eye black strips during games. A little over the line? Perhaps but I find it ludicrous that Tebow haters find that so horrible yet there isn’t anything close to such an outcry when, say, Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh stomps on an opposing player’s arm.
And when I say Tebow haters, I mean haters.
Here’s comedian John Oliver – of the lefty-darling Daily Show with Jon Stewart – talking about Tebow last year in one of his standup routines:
“I hate Tim Tebow. If I was in a room with Tim Tebow and bin-Laden, and I had a gun with one bullet in it, I’d shoot bin-Laden — I’m not a monster. But if I had two bullets, I’d shoot Tim Tebow first.” (wild applause)
Could you imagine the outcry if Oliver had said something like that about a devout Jew or a devout Muslim?
Or this: During a news conference, a reporter asked Tebow, “Are you saving yourself for marriage?” Tebow laughed and said, “Yes, I am.” Could you imagine a reporter feeling so confident as to snark about the practices of, say, the Hindu religion at a news conference full of people?
Or the “Tebowing” phenomenon, where people — some half-mocking but other in full-court-press mock mode — imitate Tebow, who often drops to one knee and puts his head down in prayer while in uniform.
In contrast, I remember Hakeem Olajuwon of the NBA’s Houston Rockets who, as a devout Muslim, would fast during Ramadan. Since Ramadan fell during the middle of the pro basketball season, the team would have to make monthlong accomodations for the star center, resting him for a number of games even as they were fighting for a playoff spot. Now the John Olivers of this world may not consider a Bible-belt town like Houston to be the most enlightened place in the world, but I don’t ever recall Rockets coaches, players or fans offering anything but support for Olajuwon’s adherence to his fast.
I also recall Muhammad Ali who would often invoke the name of Elijah Muhammad after his fights but I don’t think many of the same people who complain about Tebow’s invocations of Jesus complained about Ali proclaiming his faith on national television.
I’m not an evangelical Christian but there’s a double-standard at work here.
Tim Tebow is someone to be despised, to wish ill upon? This guy and his family help run an orphanage for 600 kids in the Phillippines. In a league where Michael Vick spends time in the joint for electrocuting dogs and then gets named Comeback Player of the Year – and people hate on Tim Tebow? Really?
Just Google “tim tebow hate” and even if you’re lukewarm about the guy, you’ll be shocked at what people say on Facebook, Twitter and the Internet at large about him.
If you dislike Tebow and think he’s holier than thou, fine. If you want to see him fail, that’s your right. It says more about you than it does about him, but that’s your right.
And you know what? If he really does stink you don’t have to get worked up about it because sports is a true meritocracy. The Broncos coaching staff put Tebow in there because they thought he gave them the best chance to win. And if they start losing, they will replace him. Nothing personal; just business. And that’s the way it should be.
Is Tebow a Hall of Fame quarterback right now? Hardly.
I’m not sure I’d call him a good quarterback — but I am sure I’d call him a winning quarterback. The record shows that, although I’d argue the Broncos’ defense has been the bigger reason for their recent success.
But this really isn’t about football. It’s about people — many of whom love to lecture us on the importance of tolerance — who dislike a guy because he is devout in his faith. If Tim Tebow were a Muslim or a Jew or a Buddhist and people like John Oliver said such things, it would be called bigotry.
Because that’s exactly what it is.
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Here’s an excellent overview of the Tebow lovers and haters out there, done by ESPN.
Here’s an article on Tebow from a writer for the Orange County Register questioning Tebow as a role model.
Here’s an article by a friend of mine, John Cannon, who writes about sports in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here’s an article by a Fox Sports columnist, bringing up the “If Tebow were a Muslim” angle.
And for you football fans, here’s a very interesting post arguing that Tebow is a better quarterback than most people give him credit for.
