Tebow is T. Yates, but we act like he's Tom Brady. Because of his religion. Imagine an athlete who didn't believe in God, and during interviews, photoshoots, endzone celebrations, he went out of his way to show everyone that he's an atheist. And then to have people say we can't talk about that athlete's atheism? If you think that his faith and beliefs is just a personal thing for Tebow, grounded in humility, you must have forgotten his anti-abortion commercial that aired during the Super Bowl two years ago.
To paraphrase the ad's logic: "Tim Tebow wasn't aborted, and he turned into a superstar, so why should anyone get abortions?
I've believed in God my whole life, I'm a Christian, and I hate all this grandstanding because all it does is turn faith into a caricature. Tebow makes religion look more desperate and superficial than any atheist ever has. Because of what he represents. As news of all forms devolves into entertainment, and entertainment devolves into shouting matches framed as debate, we need something to shout about. That something doesn't need to be that important or even real; just real enough to get people excited one way or another, long enough to sell the shouting match.
This is usually okay. When people shout about LeBron James, at least we're talking about the most talented basketball player on earth. But Tim Tebow is the face of the next leap. Where an otherwise irrelevant character makes for good debate, so the news entertainment industry frames his every move as significant, and soon this irrelevant character has been news for long enough that eventually he does do something noteworthy, and he becomes the biggest story in America.
Then you look up and you see that a mediocre pro athlete just became the most popular athlete in the country. You see that 43 percent of Americans think God's helping Tim Tebow win playoff games. Then you remember that 43 percent of Americans still don't trust Muslims. Then you realize Maybe he's not a good quarterback, maybe he was never really an underdog, and maybe his faith has nothing to do with humility, but we've spent so much time injecting all this meaning into Tim Tebow that this week he finally began to mean something.
Only instead of an icon to hard work and humility or a football player that's fun to watch play football, for a week at least, he's the walking, kneeling reminder of just how completely f'ing insane America can be sometimes. On that note, and with all due respect to Herm Edwards and people with integrity the world over, here's to hoping the Patriots beat the living hell out of Tim Tebow on Sunday. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
Not only don't they want to see him do well, they want to seem him flounder and flop in embarrassing fashion. It's not good enough that Tebow can't start in the NFL, the haters want to see him out of the league completely.
Now those same people are upset that he's playing in a baseball league they don't even follow. Maybe, just maybe, the target of their hate isn't Tebow, but something far more unsettling. I fell into that. I never met someone quite like that, someone who, from A to Z, what he's living is real. Sometimes I look at his critics and, while I don't feel sorry for them, I wonder what's the issue here? Tebow believes in God. He believes in service.
He believes in trying to impact people in a positive way, to make their lives better. He believes in doing whatever it takes, including playing baseball, to the best of his ability to reach people and share his story and make a difference in the world. Maybe if people spent the energy it takes to hate Tebow on living their lives more like Tebow, the world would be a much better place.
Subscribe Manage my subscription Activate my subscription Log in Log out. Regions Tampa St. Letters to the Editor Submit a Letter. Investigations Narratives Pulitzer Winners. He signed a deal with Nike in In , Public Policy Polling surveyed fans about their favorite quarterbacks. Part of the appeal for Tebow was in his good nature, his faith and his clean-cut attitude. Our own Doug Robinson explained it pretty well back in February when Tebow said he was hanging up his cleats.
In high-profile games they generated the most Google searches — as many as 90 million — for the next 24 hours — but then the NCAA banned eyeblack messages. Tebow seems a safe bet to stay away from drama and he is, for better or worse depending on who you ask , well-liked. But Tebow could get a longer experience with the Jaguars if he takes on a role similar to — yep, you guessed it — former BYU quarterback and current New Orleans Saints stud , Taysom Hill.
But even then, it would be for only a handful of snaps a game. So what does all of this mean? Probably not much. Tebow will sign a deal to practice and try out for the team. Then again, who knew that Hill would be such a success story? Could Tebow find success once again in a new role with a new team?
Is there still some Tebow magic left? Nothing is guaranteed in football. Giving up and starting over midway through a rebuilding phase would do more damage than good for most any team. The bottom line is this: Tebow can be a starting quarterback in the NFL in the right situation. But soon, sooner than most of you may think, Tebow will be back on the field waiting for the snap.
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