What's Really Behind The Tebow Bashing?

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall

I am not really a Florida Gators fan nor a Denver Broncos fan but I have been following the strange twists and turns of Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's journey in the NFL. Tebow, who had arguably one of the most accomplished and recognized college football careers in my lifetime while winning the Heisman trophy and two national championships, was predicted by many football experts to be an utter failure in the NFL.

It was said that Tebow's style of play, his unorthodox throwing motion and the previous lack of success of many QB's coming out of a pro style offense in college would mean that Tebow had no chance of a productive NFL career.  The Broncos surprised most football observers by taking him with the 25th pick in the 2010 draft and some commentators scratched their heads in what they felt was a wasted pick by Denver.

Fast-forwarding late into the 2011 season, Tebow still has much to improve in his game (as most young quarterbacks do), but his team is consistently winning games and looking towards a potential spot in the playoffs. In a league where winning is supposedly all that matters, I've been surprised by the consistent negativity that has been directed towards Tebow.

Larry Taunton has written a splendid piece in the USA Today that, in my opinion, hits the nail on the head as it pertains to Tebow. Taunton says this about the Tebow detractors:

"Now 5-1 as a starter, Tebow's critics are indignant that the Gainesville upstart didn't pack his cleats and go home the moment they declared him inadequate. The simple fact is, they want him to fail. And now, after so much ink and vitriol predicting just that, they need him to fail. So what gives? Why does even Tebow's own coaching staff and management offer so little public support? 

Jake Plummer, the latest to take pot shots at the embattled Denver quarterback, might have been speaking for anti-Tebowites everywhere when he said in an interview on a Phoenix radio station that he would like Tebow more if he would "shut up" about his faith in Jesus Christ. And with that little comment, the cat, as they say, was out of the bag. Plummer said what the commentators wouldn't say. Their dislike for Tim Tebow is not, as they would have us believe, about his throwing motion or his completion percentage; it's all about his open professions of faith and his goody-two shoes image. 

When it comes right down to it, we don't want heroes who are truly good. We want them to fail the occasional drug test or start a bar fight from time to time. It makes us feel better about ourselves. Tebow, however, doesn't make us feel better about ourselves. People like him make us feel a little convicted about the things we say and do. So we find a reason to dislike them. Or, when Tebow says that glory goes to God and the credit for a victory goes to his teammates, coaches, and family, we are suspicious. An increasingly jaded culture, we don't believe that anyone can say such things and really mean them."

As a fellow evangelical, I can't help but feel that at least some of the animosity that is directed towards Tim Tebow has to do with the openness with which he talks about his faith. It seems to me that Taunton is onto something here. The amount of criticism that Tebow has received is simply not commensurate with the winning ways of his team. There has to be something else beyond just football to cause so many "experts" to be so fixated on Tebow and I think Taunton has it pegged.

When it comes down to it, Tim Tebow is a winner, is well-liked by his teammates and is someone, from all appearances, that lives a life that is consistent with the beliefs he professes. From my perspective, I wish more professional athletes were like Tim Tebow and I find myself rooting him on as the season progresses and frustrated analysts seek to find new ways to justify their negative views towards him. Tim Tebow is far from perfect but I hope he finds years of success in the NFL.

To read Larry Taunton's complete article please click here.  

The Tim Tebow Ad: Was it Worth the Hype?

Chalk one up for pro-life advocates. The much talked about Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother said nothing of abortion and was relatively tame. Unless, of course, you account for the nice hit that Timmy put on his mama. But more on that in second.

Had pro-choice organizations not made such a fuss about the commercial in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl it is likely that it would have gone relatively unnoticed. This is a good reminder that it's good to actually see something before we protest it. We Christians are notorious for boycotting things we know nothing about which naturally peaks others' curiosity and brings more attention to things we wanted others to ignore in the first place! Some even said that if they hadn't heard anything about the Tebow ad beforehand that they might have thought it was some kind of weird eHarmony ad while viewing it. You can view the ad below. Please click here if the player doesn't show up.



Because such a stink was made about a commercial that ended up being pretty unmemorable, it ended up bringing much more attention to the pro-life cause. To be fair, there was a sizable portion of those that objected to the ad because it was sponsored by Focus on the Family and not because of the content. That is understandable. There are many that view Focus as an organization that is more focused more on what goes on in other peoples' bedrooms than the family. In the end, the Tebow ad was not political and was family-focused.

However, there are some that looked for anything to find fault with the Tebow spot. The president of the National Organization for Woman (NOW), Terry O'Neill said this:

"I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it," she said. "That's what comes across to me even more strongly than the anti-abortion message. I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I don't find it charming. I think CBS should be ashamed of itself."

If Ms. O'Neill thinks that commercial glorified domestic violence then I really wonder if she is thinking clearly. What I'm ashamed of is that suctioning out a baby's skull while it is in its mother's womb is fine by O'Neill whereas an obviously light-hearted commercial bothers her. I wonder if she was equally troubled by the well-received Snickers commercial in which Betty White also gets tackled.

These types of comments are evidence that NOW knows that it is losing ground in the moral debate around abortion and it is desperate. This innocuous 30 second commercial generated a national discussion about abortion and the pro-life message was the one that won out. Although Focus on the Family couldn't have fully anticipated the attention this would receive, I'm sure they're happy that the protesters only increased the awareness of their message. Celebrate family. Celebrate life.

Tim Tebow & The Abortion Debate

For millions of Americans, Florida Gator Tim Tebow is a football star and a positive role model for little kids everywhere. But to a vocal segment of our population, the former Heisman trophy winner has been ruffling some feathers recently. It all started when word got out that Tebow would be featured in a 30-second spot that will run during the upcoming Super Bowl.

The ad will focus on the choice that Tebow's mother made to give birth to him after some doctors suggested that an abortion would be advisable after she contracted a serious illness. As you know, Mrs. Tebow went ahead with the pregnancy and Tim turned out fine.

As I've heard numerous opinions on this issue, I've seen three different perspectives:

1. Tebow should have a right to say what he wants in whatever forum he wants.
2. Tebow has a right to say what he wants but not during something like the Super Bowl.
3. Tebow is a narrow-minded, religious nut for even suggesting that it might be a good thing for women to consider that abortion might not be the best option.

What I've found most interesting about this whole debate is that many individuals that consider themselves "pro-choice" seem to get really upset any time someone advocates that women keep their baby. It doesn't sound that many of them are truly pro-choice. It feels like they are almost angry that Tebow's mom chose to have him and she wants others to consider the same choice. Many of the same people, who are the most staunch proponents of non-censorship, want to censor those that they disagree with.

The reason why I am pro-life is that I believe that abortion is the murder of an innocent human being. And I am not in a small minority. In fact, Americans are nearly evenly split on this issue. As I've said before, I believe that abortion is my generation's slavery. It is a terrible evil that is allowed by our government. Just as many in the South argued that the Civil War was really about states' rights, many pro-choice advocates claim that the abortion debate revolves around the civil rights of women.

The primary "right" that the South was fighting for in the Civil War was the "right" to own human beings and treat them as chattel." The reproductive "rights" that are involved in the abortion debate is the "right" to kill an innocent child within it's mother's womb. You may disagree with my perspective, but I believe that scientific evidence backs up my belief that abortion is murder. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and to not speak up for them when they can't defend themselves is wrong in and of itself.

But what if children that were about to be aborted could defend themselves. Would that change things? Look at what Stephen Schwartz has to say:

"Suppose, in the encounter between doctor and child [in an abortion], the child won half of the time, and killed the doctor in self-defense—something he would have every right to do. Very few doctors would perform abortions. They perform them now only because of their absolute power over a small, fragile, helpless victim."

So for something that I feel is the greatest evil of my generation, I believe it is totally appropriate for a well-known figure to speak on behalf of children that can't speak for themselves. Over 200,000 people died in Haiti recently and we applauded each star that spoke out on their behalf. Close to 50 MILLION children have been killed in their mother's womb since 1973 in the United States alone! Isn't it fitting, then, that in the midst of one of the most-watched viewing event in American television challenges people to consider this all-important issue?

I appreciate what Scott Maxwell of The Orlando Sentinel said about this as he compares pro-life advocates to civil rights activists:

"I strongly disagree with my friend and colleague, George Diaz, who argued today that the Super Bowl is the wrong time for anyone to press political or social issues. Would one argue that if, 55 years ago, Rosa Parks had wanted to air a PSA for civil rights, that she find some other, “more appropriate” time to do so? (Excuse me, Mrs. Parks, but if you wouldn’t mind just keeping your seat in the back of the bus until we can see if the Giants pull this victory out, that’d be swell. Besides, there’s a really funny commercial involving monkeys and soda coming up.)"

I realize that there are people that will be reading this post that are just as passionate about this issue as myself but on the other end of the spectrum. That's okay. I still consider you a friend. But it doesn't mean that I agree with you. This issue is too important for me to say "to each his own." It is not like the choice between Coke or Pepsi, Nike or Adidas. It involves human life and for that, I will always choose life.

Tim Tebow: Living up to the Hype

A new college football champion will be decided tonight and one of the game's most visible stars ever, Florida QB Tim Tebow, will be on display for a national television audience. Already possessing a national championship (won as a freshmen backup) and a Heisman last year as a sophomore, there is little left for Tebow to accomplish in the way of honors and awards. But it seems that football glory is not the most important thing in his life.

I wrote a post a number of weeks ago in which I discussed the use of Bible verses for motivational purposes in athletic contests. The post contained a picture and mention of Tebow, who likes to write a Bible verse on his eye black strips each game. Though this could have been perceived as a slight towards Tebow, that was not my intent. I actually was using him as an example of one who seems to realize that winning football games is not what life is all about.

I don't know Tim personally, but he does appear to be the real deal. His charity and missionary work is well-documented and his relationship with Christ is obviously important to him. ESPN.com's Pat Forde wrote about the tendency that some reporters have to want to show that Tebow isn't as a great a guy as many believe. After being asked a particularly lame question at a press conference, Tebow had this response regarding how he is perceived

"You know, everybody, they can look and say how easy it is. But it's definitely not that easy. The difference is 'cause not many people want to wake up at 5, go through workouts, go speak to young kids, go back, eat lunch, go to class, go to tutoring, go speak at a prison at night, come back. I mean, more people would do those things; they just don't want to sacrifice.
You know, there's a lot of leaders out there. But, unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good ones. So that's always been my dream and my goal, is to be someone like Danny Wuerffel was to me, to be someone that a parent can say, 'Hey, this kid did it the right way.' That's always been my dream and my goal more so than winning a trophy or winning a championship.
So if it's cynical or whatnot, that's fine. If people don't believe it, that's fine. There's always going to be naysayers, people that are going to say it's fake. But that's fine because you can't control everybody. But I can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation. So how I approach the situation is I want to do everything in my power that football gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good because that's gonna mean so much more when it's all said and done than just playing football and winning championships."

Tim Tebow is an extremely talented, competitive and driven athlete. He's also a young man that seems to have his head on straight and is committed to live a life that honors God. Due to his success on the field and activities off of it, he is getting an amount of exposure and attention that few college athletes have received. But not all reporters are skeptical. David Whitley, a columnist with my local newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, commented on how his peers interact with Tebow:

"Religion makes some people uncomfortable, and athletes spouting it makes them downright irritable.We roll our eyes when they thank God after a game. Sam Bradford is also a card-carrying Christian. What if he shows up Thursday with "John 3:16" on his face? Would God have to go to a sudden-death verse-off to pick a winner?About the 152nd question, Tebow tried to explain. He doesn't believe God gives a hoot who wins. Philippians 4:13 just inspires Tebow to perform better. That means being humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Tebow said the verse has inspired him countless times in and out of games. We may not believe that, we may think it's all just a psychological crutch. That doesn't matter.Tebow believes it helps him, therefore it does."

I am not aware of where Whitley stands when it comes to matters of faith, but I think his assesment was right on. Our society tends to enjoy seeing people rise to fortune and fame and then come crashing down to earth due to failure or scandal. We are especially suspicious of those that claim their relationship with God helped them to achieve the prominence they've found themselves in. Usually the people that seem too good to be true are. I hope in this case, that which appears to be too good is actually true.

If you'd like to learn some more about how their Christian faith affects the life of Tim Tebow, Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford and several other football players, check out Beyond the Ultimate.

Christian Athletes and Philippians 4:13

If you were to read the media guides for any number of professional and collegiate teams or even look to the apparel that athletes wear on game day, there is a certain verse that gets frequent attention -- Philippians 4:13. A simple verse, it says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But when used by athletes is the verse being taken out of context and used inappropriately? A look at the context of the passage should tell us something.

The book of Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul to the church of Philippi while he was in jail. This letter outlines his hope in Christ and the fact that true joy can be found in the midst of even difficult circumstances. An examination of the broader passage surrounding chapter 4, verse 13 indicates what Paul was referring to:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me.
Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Though many athletes may look to this verse for personal inspiration in regard to their athletic achievements, it means so much more. Paul had known the realities of times of comfort and times of inconvenience. Through all these things he had found contentment in whatever circumstances he was facing. While it is okay for Christian athletes to seek to apply this verse to their lives, it is troubling to see how it often gets limited to mean the ability to hit home runs or score touchdowns. The "all things" that Paul was referring to was not pertaining to competitive sports. He was referring to the joy that believers in Christ could find in the midst of hard times and, furthermore, the blessings of giving and receiving within the family of God.

When rightly applied it would mean athletes can thank God in their on-camera interview following a loss, just as they do after a win. It would mean that they could also kneel in prayer after dropping a touchdown pass and not just when they caught it. And I hope more athletes follow the example of Tim Tebow (pictured above) and others by using the platform that sports has given them to positively influence the lives of other. Christ does not give us strength merely for us to get rich and famous. He does it for His sake. Beyond the field of athletics, this verse can provide great comfort for all believers. No matter whether our circumstances are easy or difficult, we can do all things through Him who gives us strength.