Tebow mania is sweeping the nation and if he can pull off an upset today, we'll be in deep throes of Tebow-itis. My son loves Tim Tebow. Loves his style of play. Loves that his name has become a verb. (Tebow (v): to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.)
The debate on Tebow seems to fall down the lines of what people think of him personally. Those who appreciate his spirituality seem to think he's a great football player. Those who don't think he's a lucky, overrated hack.
So, what do I think of him? Especially given that I'm essentially an avowed heathen? I think he's awesome. So, let's break it down.
His praying? It's obnoxious. No doubt about it. Although it aligns with what many evangelical Christians think, it's clearly against what many other Christian faiths believe regarding overt displays of belief. I was raised in a Catholic tradition (and yet was never struck by lightning despite my heathen ways), and always appreciated the elegance of Matthew 6:5.
"And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward."
This also aligns well with my overall philosophy of life. Do what you want. Don't bother others. So long as you do your thing and respect that others don't have to do your thing, you ensure not just your freedom but the freedom of everyone else.
However, again, this isn't the way others believe. Sometimes you have to cut a wide berth in respecting the beliefs of others because, frankly, sometimes people believe in some really obnoxious stuff. How big a problem are evangelical Christians? I've always felt that these were the folks who were the subject of the quote, "Almost everybody likes Jesus. It's Christians that people can't stand."
But really? How much of a problem? I've known quite a few and generally found them to be truly nice people. I enjoy their company and although they didn't understand at all how I could not be religious, they didn't seem to be bothered much by it.
Honestly, I've had a lot more difficulty with people trying to convert me to Amway than I ever had with people trying to convert me to Christianity. Even the hardcore evangelicals I've encountered tended to be kind, friendly, happy. I just don't have a problem with them.
Ultimately, when I think back to the days of my youth, I was probably more obnoxious in my disbelief than they ever were in their belief. So, is it obnoxious? Yes. Of course it is. It's hard to escape that. But is it harmful? Is it a problem? Is it symptomatic of religious bigotry? No, I don't think it is.
Now, no doubt, if Tim Tebow ended every post-game interview with, "all praise to Allah and to his prophet Mohammed, blessed be his name," the evangelicals would get an idea of how obnoxious this behavior can be. If he wore "Jihad" eye-black and shouted "allahu akbar!" at every touchdown, people would think he was pretty much the most obnoxious person, ever.
But would it be a problem? What if he did something not religiously motivated? What if he pretended to be a chicken in the end-zone and clucked and strutted around like a rooster. What if, in every interview, he clucked and made chicken noises?
I'd think it was awesome. I'd find it awesome that he was doing it despite knowing that it made people irritated. I'd laugh that people would be so irritated at something that's purely intended to be entertainment. Yes, folks, sports are entertainment. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's it. Touchdowns don't cure cancer. They don't end wars. They entertain people.
Which is why I like Tim Tebow, tebowing and all. He's entertaining to watch. Especially given that sports involve some rather unsavory characters, from drug-users who sue to play again after getting lifetime bans, to people involved in murder, sometimes I really wish sports had the ability to exclude people who are clearly not a good role model to young people.
Since they don't, all the better that we have a clean living kid playing the game. Tim Tebow seems to be free from any other controversies or bad behaviors. Doesn't even appear to be a womanizer. Even LEGAL vices don't seem to appeal to him. If this is because of his Christianity, then all I can say is that Tim Tebow is an example of Christianity gone right.
If more Christians were like him, people might not just like Jesus, but like Christians as well.
As for his football skills, I'm even further from being an expert about playing QB than I am about spiritual matters. However, I'm from the school of thought that great QBs find a way to win. This isn't punt, pass and kick. The idea is to be the team with more points when time runs out. Tim Tebow has found ways to win despite what many consider ungainly physical abilities and a style of play that is ill-suited to the NFL. However, the NFL highway is littered with the careers of many a promising QB who never quite got their stuff together. Usually, they wore orange helmets. Does anybody think Tim Couch was a great NFL QB? If you had to chose between Couch, who supposedly had the stuff of great NFL QBs, and Brian Sipe, who was small and had a weak arm, which one would Browns fans rather see under center?
Good luck, Tim Tebow! At least one heathen will be rooting for you today.
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