Shut the hell up about Tebow
Guess what, if I wanted to watch people pray on Sundays I’d go back to church.
I really enjoy football, but I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time following it (Sarah might disagree with this statement). I watch a fair amount and I don’t miss many Seahawks games, but I don’t watch the draft, I don’t follow college ball (although I keep an eye on the Huskies, Ducks, and Utes), and I don’t set aside my Sundays to watch every pro game. So I generally know the big names, but it’s not unusual for me to hear a name that I don’t recognize.
Six weeks ago I barely knew the name Tim Tebow, little did I know how much I would relish those days. At that point all I knew was that the Denver Broncos had an Evangelical Christian quarterback that was using the sidelines and interview time to preach to everyone that was looking or listening. In fact, I had to ask a friend of mine, who’s a Broncos fan, “Who’s this Tebow guy I keep hearing about?” Coincidentally, I ended up watching the Broncos beat the Bears in overtime later that day and the entire bar was cheering for the Broncos.
Since that fateful day the Tebow furor has continued to grow and it’s to the point where I can’t get away from the damn name. SNL is doing skits involving him (very funny by the way), Bill Maher is tweeting about him (also hilarious), people are referring to him as “God’s quarterback” and other bullshit terms. A recent survey shows that 43% of Americans believe god is involved in Tebow’s success and Tebow’s pastor says that Tebow’s wins are God’s wins.
First and foremost, if god is spending his/her time determining the outcome of a football game his/her priorities are way out of whack. In case everyone has forgotten, the US is still involved in a war in Afghanistan. Thousands of people are dying every day in Somalia. Radiation continues to leak in Japan. A significant portion of the world’s population is living at a level of poverty that most in the US can’t even imagine. Apparently god already has more to deal with than he/her can handle so if he/she is spending his/her time fixing NFL games then I am not impressed. And yet, people continue to worship a god that they believe cares more for multi millionaires playing a game for a living than starving children and I find this terribly disturbing and depressing.
However, let’s assume that god has a vested interest in the NFL, why would god favor Tim Tebow? The majority of NFL players are Christian and Tebow is not the only one that makes a big deal of it. Troy Polamalu crosses himself before every play. Ray Lewis certainly isn’t quiet about his faith. Tony Dungy couldn’t conduct an interview without mentioning his Christianity when he was coaching, and those are just three examples. That’s not even mentioning the millions of people that pray for their team every Sunday so why does Tim Tebow get to sit at the right hand of Jesus?
What I can’t figure out is why the Tebow mania in the media? Denver squeaked into the playoffs with one more win than the Seahawks. Of the eight remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs four have won the Super Bowl and Brady has won three. Brees not only has had the best season of his career, but has one of the best seasons of any quarterback in history. Rodgers and the Packers nearly had a perfect season and watching them play is like watching poetry in motion. Who do I keep hearing about and who is dominating the Sports Center airtime? Tebow. Tebow has exactly 0 championships and has had an average season. While he does have spectacular moments he’s inconsistent at best. I would argue that Cam Newton had a much better season and he’s a rookie.
All I can hope for at this point is that the Patriots beat the Broncos soundly (again) on Saturday and the hype will just go away. The sports commentators and fans can begin talking about something other than Tebow. Football coverage will return to football instead of Christianity. I am so sick of seeing “The Tebow” I can’t stand it. I spent the first 15 years of my life watching people pray on Sundays and if I wanted to see it again, believe me, I know where I can go.
In conclusion, I would like to tell Tebow to shut the fuck up using a reference from the book he supposedly loves:
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
- Matthew 6:6
I really enjoy football, but I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time following it (Sarah might disagree with this statement). I watch a fair amount and I don’t miss many Seahawks games, but I don’t watch the draft, I don’t follow college ball (although I keep an eye on the Huskies, Ducks, and Utes), and I don’t set aside my Sundays to watch every pro game. So I generally know the big names, but it’s not unusual for me to hear a name that I don’t recognize.
Six weeks ago I barely knew the name Tim Tebow, little did I know how much I would relish those days. At that point all I knew was that the Denver Broncos had an Evangelical Christian quarterback that was using the sidelines and interview time to preach to everyone that was looking or listening. In fact, I had to ask a friend of mine, who’s a Broncos fan, “Who’s this Tebow guy I keep hearing about?” Coincidentally, I ended up watching the Broncos beat the Bears in overtime later that day and the entire bar was cheering for the Broncos.
Since that fateful day the Tebow furor has continued to grow and it’s to the point where I can’t get away from the damn name. SNL is doing skits involving him (very funny by the way), Bill Maher is tweeting about him (also hilarious), people are referring to him as “God’s quarterback” and other bullshit terms. A recent survey shows that 43% of Americans believe god is involved in Tebow’s success and Tebow’s pastor says that Tebow’s wins are God’s wins.
First and foremost, if god is spending his/her time determining the outcome of a football game his/her priorities are way out of whack. In case everyone has forgotten, the US is still involved in a war in Afghanistan. Thousands of people are dying every day in Somalia. Radiation continues to leak in Japan. A significant portion of the world’s population is living at a level of poverty that most in the US can’t even imagine. Apparently god already has more to deal with than he/her can handle so if he/she is spending his/her time fixing NFL games then I am not impressed. And yet, people continue to worship a god that they believe cares more for multi millionaires playing a game for a living than starving children and I find this terribly disturbing and depressing.
However, let’s assume that god has a vested interest in the NFL, why would god favor Tim Tebow? The majority of NFL players are Christian and Tebow is not the only one that makes a big deal of it. Troy Polamalu crosses himself before every play. Ray Lewis certainly isn’t quiet about his faith. Tony Dungy couldn’t conduct an interview without mentioning his Christianity when he was coaching, and those are just three examples. That’s not even mentioning the millions of people that pray for their team every Sunday so why does Tim Tebow get to sit at the right hand of Jesus?
What I can’t figure out is why the Tebow mania in the media? Denver squeaked into the playoffs with one more win than the Seahawks. Of the eight remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs four have won the Super Bowl and Brady has won three. Brees not only has had the best season of his career, but has one of the best seasons of any quarterback in history. Rodgers and the Packers nearly had a perfect season and watching them play is like watching poetry in motion. Who do I keep hearing about and who is dominating the Sports Center airtime? Tebow. Tebow has exactly 0 championships and has had an average season. While he does have spectacular moments he’s inconsistent at best. I would argue that Cam Newton had a much better season and he’s a rookie.
All I can hope for at this point is that the Patriots beat the Broncos soundly (again) on Saturday and the hype will just go away. The sports commentators and fans can begin talking about something other than Tebow. Football coverage will return to football instead of Christianity. I am so sick of seeing “The Tebow” I can’t stand it. I spent the first 15 years of my life watching people pray on Sundays and if I wanted to see it again, believe me, I know where I can go.
In conclusion, I would like to tell Tebow to shut the fuck up using a reference from the book he supposedly loves:
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
- Matthew 6:6
posted by Existentialist at 9:25 AM
2 Comments:
I enjoy the fact that you are against the constant chat about Mr. Tebow, yet you added an 817 word blog post centered on Mr. Tebow. Tebow is a media sensation and nothing will stop the Tebow train this year. I think the real problem of stems from the NFL trying to increase their fan base. Tebow has a large following of people who don’t watch the NFLand The NFL aims to cash in on this fan base. If Denver were to go to the Super Bowl I imagine it would be the highest view Super Bowl in history. NFL Jersey sales are a great indicator of a players popularity, Tim’s jerseys ranks as the number two jersey sold in this year (Rodgers #1, Tebow #2, Polamalu #3, Brees #4, Brady#5).
The bottom line is the fans drive what the NFL reports on. The NFL went into this year with the potential of losing a high percentage of the fan base because of the lockout. The name Tebow is generating a lot of publicity for the NFL, people love’m or hate’m. Either way, the NFL is a topic of conversation everywhere you go.
If my conspiracy theory holds true you will find Denver in the Super Bowl. There are some great stories surrounding a few matchups. Denver versus New England has the 13.5 point underdog facing a dynasty that is the number one seed in the AFC. New England demolished the Broncos 41-23 in week 15 and the main story from this was Brady (the prophet), postgame, complimenting Tebow and talking about the meeting again in the playoffs. The media coverage will be unbearable when the Broncos beat New England with a fourth quarter comeback. The next great story will come from a Denver/Green Bay or Denver/New Orleans Super Bowl. Tebow versus the defending champions and a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII, where Denver and Elway won the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The next best story is Denver versus New Orleans; the Tebow train meets the recovering city of New Orleans hit by hurricane Katrina (not much of a story but the media will make it one). If for some reason Tebow and the Broncos don’t go to Super Bowl we will see Jim and John Harbaugh face off with a Ravens/49ers Super Bowl. The NFL needs stories that bring in the fans and increase the ratings; they won’t allow a Green Bay/New England game.
As Tebow would say “GB2!” Go Broncos, God Bless.
Believe me, the irony of me writing a blog post about a person that I'm sick of hearing about is not lost on me.
I have heard the theory that professional sports is fixed before (especially the NBA). At the time I didn't want to believe it, but there are things I've seen in the last few years that lead me to believe that it's very possible. If nothing else, I do think officials are told to tilt the field one way or another, I just hope the Patriots are good enough to level it in this case.
I think the "real" Super Bowl this year will be between Green Bay and New Orleans, I think they've both played the best football.
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