These days, saying you're rooting against Tim Tebow is like saying you're rooting against God Himself.
It seems like just about everybody - casual and rabid sports fans alike - has jumped on the Tebow bandwagon. I think the only ones who haven't are those on the extreme political left (not me; I'm a moderate), atheists (not me, either; I'm a practicing Catholic) and Pittsburgh Steeler fans (my football loyalties lie in the Midwest).
Maybe my disdain for #15 stems from the fact that he plays for the Denver Broncos. After all, this week marked 25 years since John Elway - now the Broncos' general manager - led Denver 98 yards in the final five minutes to keep my hometown Cleveland Browns out of their first (and only) Super Bowl. Maybe it's because Tebow was instrumental in the University of Florida's upset of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2007 national championship game. Either of those would be solid enough reasons not to like the guy - but they'd be lies.
The fact of the matter is, I don't dislike Tebow; what I do dislike is the way fans laud and praise him.
Tebow claims to be a conservative Christian, and by all outward appearances, he seems to not only talk the talk but - more importantly - walk the walk as well. I applaud Tebow for living his faith out loud; it's something that I, as a Christian woman, struggle with from time to time. But I fear that for every casual fan he draws to the game of football, for every soul he either intentionally or unintentionally awakens to God's message with his ability to win a football game despite his inability to consistently throw an accurate pass, he's leading someone down a path of sin.
Yup, I said it - Tim Tebow is causing people to sin. Enter example number one, the first - and arguably, the most important - of the Ten Commandments:
you shall not have
strange Gods before me."
Now, I'm not saying that Tebow is breaking this commandment. But can you say the same for the man wearing this jersey?
I can't tell you the number of times I've seen a person wearing a #15 jersey with the words "Messiah," "Jesus" or "Savior" on the back. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen status updates on Facebook urging me to "Praise God for Tim Tebow!" after another Broncos win.
Let's be serious, folks: God doesn't care about the outcome of a football game. And if he did, I daresay the New Orleans Saints would be on the fast track to the Super Bowl every single year.
The glory and honor that so many football fans - and so many others drawn to the celebrity of Tim Tebow - should go not to the man, but to the Lord who created him. And while I know that many Tebow fans are well aware of this division between the human and the divine, with every surprise win on the football field, I think many are losing sight of this crucial fact.
So when the Broncos take the field this weekend against the New England Patriots (note: my Cleveland ties make me predisposed to dislike Bill Belichick, too), I'll be - for the first time in my life - cheering on Tom Brady.
Woo hoo. Go Pats.
"After all, this week marked 25 years since John Elway - now the Broncos' general manager - led Denver 98 yards in the final five minutes to keep my hometown Cleveland Browns out of their first (and only) Super Bowl. "
I will have to forward this to my husband. He's a Cleveland Browns fan! Our oldest son is actually named for his favorite Browns player - Clay Matthews. We named our oldest son Clayton Matthew!
Mary Ellen
The Working Home Keeper
Best. Post. Ever.
I feel exactly the same way. I appreciate Tebow's religious fervor, but I am turned off by over the top religious types. He's starting to come off a little too "tel-evenagilist" for my liking. People are making him way too much of a big deal.
(and I felt this way before last week's game..GO STEELERS. ;))
In my family we are avid football fans, New Orleans Saints fans. We have been New Orleans Saints fans since the Saints were lovingly termed the "Aint's." My husband has recently jumped on the Tebow bandwagon. I must agree that God does not care about the outcome of a football game; however, as a Christian, I must offer that it is good to have an advocate for Christianity on the football field. Football, being the most popular game in the U.S., allows for Chrisitanity to be publicized, just as Scientology and the Muslim religion have been exposed by recent events and famous converts. Although I am not an individual who I would categorize as "spiritual," I am certainly glad that the general public, including our future generations are seeing a role model who is proud to be spiritual. Moreover, although the city of New Orleans may be seen as corrupt by many, our city was revived after Katrina by the spark that Drew Brees brought to our football team. Brees is another fabulous role model for our children, and the New Orleans Saints truly deserve to be on the road to the Superbowl.
Go Saints!
Kori
A Working Mom's Musings
I stumbled on your site from a search on bucket lists since that is what my whole site is devoted to. Kinda cool ~ until I saw this post on Tim Tebow ~ yes, I understand the direction you were headed, but Tim Tebow is not causing anyone to sin. He has nothing to do with the items out there being marketed with likeness directed at him - his number - jerseys ect. I'm not a football fan and I don't know Tim Tebow other than through the media. One thing I do know is this - he is displaying Christian character and sharing the gospel.
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
From what i see he lines up with - And shame on any individual for worshipping anything that does not line up with the word of God- that is not Tim Tebow's responsibility or fault.
I couldn't have said it better myself! Would you mind if I posted a link to this post on my FB?
Did you hear about Jimmer Fredette at BYU? Now THAT was a story about misplaced faith. Strange stuff.
for every casual fan he draws to the game of football, for every soul he awakens to God's message with his ability to win a football game
Not sure. Can one really awaken others to God's message through passing? To link God so prominantly to football....does that not trivialize him? Can it really honor God to be portrayed as someone who (apparently) ignores terrorism, injustice, depravity, mayhem worldwide, but never misses a game, eagerly tweaking for both winners and losers?
Did you happen to catch the SNL skit where Tebow is visited by Jesus right before a game? If you can find it online, I think you might appreciate it :)
Not me! Like you, I'm a Catholic...but really only culturally and am not particularly spiritual. I'm a relatively Liberal gal, and have been called an elitist on more than one occasion (and you know what my profession is, and what the stereotypes about us media folk are). But I love the guy, without any irony, strings, or conditions. He's one of the NFL's great characters, like my buddy Chad Ochocinco was when he played in Cincinnati. And if I'm going to apologize for Ochocino's sometimes odd behavior by saying he was raised in poverty by his grandmother without the influence of parents and that his behavior is a reflection of that, I have to be fair and flip things around and say that Timmy T was raised by Bible-thumping Baptist missionaries who home-schooled him and kept tight reins on him as they developed his worldview. And he's 23. Can't we cut him some slack? My view of the world and of faith was far less nuanced at 22 than it is now. The truth is it's a pleasure to watch him interview. He stays cool and collect while being asked offensive questions that frankly would have me punching the interviewer. He truly seems to enjoy helping and honoring his fellow man and serving those in need. His skillset and athleticism are so different from what I'm used to seeing, and he plays a unique style of football that makes his games exciting and interesting (though frequently frustrating!) to watch. And no, I don't agree with his religious views, his politics, or even much about his worldview (was he responsible for that Focus on the Family commercial during the Pats game, or did they just know they had a captive audience of his fans and choose to run it?)-- but I enjoy the heck out of him and am glad to have witnessed this cultural phenomenon. (And yes, the SNL sketch was one of the funniest EVER. I hadn't laughed that hard at their stuff since Sarah Palin).
I don't follow football one bit, so I don't even really know much about this guy that everyone's so crazy about this season. You bring up some good points about the whole situation, though, and I tend to agree with your point of view!