The day after the Broncos lost to the Patriots and ended their winning streak, one of my Facebook friends posted the following on his status update:
“Can we shut up about Tebow now. One of the most overrated a-holes in the NFL.”
I definitely take issue with this post. It clearly shows that my friend in no way understands the Tim Tebow excitement.
First of all, Tim Tebow is not overrated. On the contrary, I have heard almost nothing but criticism for his skills as a quarterback, especially his throwing skills. He, himself, is probably his own harshest critique. What we like about him is that he’s over-achieving.
Secondly, — he’s not an a-hole. I find him to be the complete antithesis of such a character. He has carried himself with far more dignity and class than we’ve become accustomed to expect from professional athletes. So far, I’ve heard of no DUIs, wife-beatings, womanizing, dog fighting, tax evasion, or anything else that cause me to put him into an “a-hole” category. Instead, we see exemplary sportsmanship, positive personality, humble interviews, and unprecedented determination.
Well, then there’s the Christian thing. I will concede that I’ve always had cognitive dissonance over the role God plays in professional sports. It’s kind of troublesome — while God gives one team a victory, the other gets a defeat, so is it divine intervention? Does prayer or faith really play into it? Or is it really just that one team is better than the other? Furthermore, I would venture to guess that God has much more important endeavors than the outcome of a Bronco game. But that’s just not the point when it comes to Tebow.
The Tebow point is this: He has turned his talents, successes, and celebrity over to Christ. Tebow’s success and subsequent attributions to God inspires all Christians to give God the glory in our lives. I certainly don’t know the guy personally, so I certainly can’t question his true heart. Does he give God the glory because he believes that it will help him win football games? Or does he win football games so he can inspire people to follow Christ? I don’t know. I do know that I’ll take his antics over Randy Moss’s any day.
I was disappointed by the loss to the Patriots, and I hope it doesn’t spoil the momentum, but it’s not going to make me shut up about Tebow. I will shut up about Tebow, however, if he’s unable to display the same quality of character in defeat as he does in victory.
Totally true, Michael. It’s funny how someone who seems to be pretty level-headed can be so polarizing without really doing much.
I’m super fired up about the win yesterday. I love how Tim Tebow keeps proving everyone wrong. I read a good article about him and his humility this morning, check it out: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/tim-tebow-denver-broncos-defies-critics-defeats-pittsburgh-steelers-overtime-29-23-stays-humble-no-i-told-you-so-010812