Posted on 12/05/2011 11:54:58 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The question that forms the title of this post has been getting a good bit of play in conservative circles of late. It was hinted at in a segment of FOX and Friends on Friday that featured NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton. And it is the main focus of a column by National Review Online news editor Daniel Foster that appeared on Saturday.
“Tebowing,” should the term be unfamiliar, takes its name from another quarterback, current Denver Broncos play caller Tim Tebow. More specifically, the term designates the now-viral mockery of his habit of kneeling down and bowing his head after a touchdown to commune with his God.
As Foster writes with more than a hint of indignation, Tebowing his become an Internet phenomenon, with its own website, a Twitter account, and most recently a YouTube video titled “Tebowing for Dummies.” At such sites, Foster continues:
[Y]ou can see an act of communion with one’s creator rendered as a bit of pop-cultural ephemera, [complete with] pictures of folks striking the pose everywhere from Oxford to Istanbul, with that muddle of irony and enthusiasm that has become my generation’s trademark.
Foster’s obvious pique at these send-ups derives in part from the fact of Tebow’s wholesomeness (he is in Foster’s words “squeaky clean, in a sport that notoriously is not”). Wherein, Foster insists, lies the origins of Tebowing. It is, in short, “the power of Tebow’s evangelical-Christian faith, and the earnestness with which he professes it [that] seems to annoy so many people.”
I’m going to have toss out my red challenge flag here. Foster may be right that for some people, the problem isn’t Tebow’s religiosity but the fact that professional sports are “so filled with clichéd Jesus praise that” fans doubt his sincerity. But I submit that for many who prefer to spend their Sundays watching the exquisite choreography of a perfectly executed screen pass, the problem is Tebow’s self-absorption.
Tebow is free to give “mad respect” to his lord, but I’d rather he do it on his own time. A number of players cross themselves on every play, but they do it discreetly — and expeditiously. Tebow’s prayer timeouts, by contrast, are as gratuitously in-your-face as the most flagrant end zone dance. And they last as long. Yet, according to his supporters, all of footballdom is supposed to give him a pass because his purpose is holy. Isn’t that what churches are for?
Another, subtler, ingredient in the widespread antipathy toward Tebow is that he is an anomaly. His success as an NFL quarterback (he is 4 and 1 since replacing Kyle Orton at the helm of the Broncos offense) doesn’t make sense to diehard football fans. His passing numbers — he has a 45% completion rate — are awful. His team is winning through a combination of razzle-dazzle and offensive schemes that haven’t been used by college, let alone NFL, coaches in two decades.
I am predicting that “this too shall pass” (to cite a proverb that Tebow should appreciate because of its religious roots). Sooner or later all 31 remaining teams in the league will develop defensive strategies to counter Denver’s pre-Knute Rockne offense, and Tebow — and Tebowing — will be gone.
Hotair is pretty much a liberal site.
You had guys like Kurt Warner who were very devote Christians and they didn’t get this kind of flak because...how do I put it?
Matthew 6:5. Apparently Tebow never read that.
Show me where “this too shall pass” appears in the bible.
It's so nice having a college coaching staff that encourages prayer!
Mark Bavaro never got mocked for taking a knee and Crossing himself. Maybe it was the likelihood of getting steam rolled on the next series that prevented that.
Tim Tebow’s teammates respect him, as do a lot of former players who are Christians (Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, in particular).
I don’t know about Irvin. He made a lot of fun of Tebow on the NFL network yesterday. It was sickening. The man must be angry at G-d
Got’cha...thanx
There have been vocal Christian NFL players before (e.g., Kurt Warner, Reggie White et al.). All the hate directed at Tim Tebow has less to do with Christianity per se than it has to do with the pro-life Super Bowl ad that he did two years ago. He’s been a marked man ever since. The left can forgive sideline praying. They can’t forgive pro-life activism.
If the season ended today, the Broncos hold all the tie-breakers for the division and wild card spots.
Before the game on Sunday, a reporter asked Tebow if he would be on the team next year (becasuse he is not your typical pro-style QB) and his response was “I don’t know what the future holds but I do know who holds my future”
When Tebow took over the Broncos were 1-4 and going nowhere fast since then they’ve gone 6-1. Now that’s a miracle. As a Bronco fan from birth I was expecting this team would go 4-12, 6-10 at best if they got some lucky bounces. They could easily finish 10-6 (CHI,NE,@BUF,KC)
Just goes to show that the Lord answers prayer!
-PJ
I remember GB QB Aaron Rodgers giving a shout out to Butte Community College where he went after he got no Division 1 scholarship offers (and then went on to Cal) It’s just more of the hip-hop culture trying to be different.
I personally don’t think it’s a bad thing they’re just giving respect where respect is due. Maybe their HS coach saved them from a life of drugs and gangs.
Speaking of motives...did you notice that on every close play where a replay for Denver could have been called, the play was never re-played for the audience/Bronco’s review people, thus nothing was challenged. Every time there was a questionable out of bounds or fumble issue, the network played it over giving time for the Vikings crew to challenge the play and it worked! I thought the referees did a one sided job yesterday as well. In spite of all of this Tebow and the Broncos won.
Tebow is leading by example. After yesterday’s game, the coach, John Fox, began his first answer, “Thank the Lord...”
Some smart coach is going to pull a “George Allen” and grab the unappreciated Tim Tebow as his 4th Quarter “relief quarterback”. I fondly remember the days when the ‘Skins would trot out Billy Kilmer to bore the death out of the opposing defense, then trot out the ageless Sonny Jurgensen for some late-game heroics. Fun Stuff!
Why not capitalize on Tebow’s proven ability to pull-off comebacks?
I used to be on the fence about Tebow. He didn’t play for my favorite college or pro team so I didn’t care about him.
But I’m starting to like Tebow because he is annoying all the right people. For example, liberals and so called football experts in the media. So I say go Tim! Hope the Broncos make the Super Bowl. I would love to see the media meltdown if Denver gets into the Super Bowl. I get a smile on my face just thinking about it.
I watched NFL Network yesterday and saw Irvin give Tebow nothing but respect, including praising him for being an outspoken Christian.
Not sure what you saw, but it was obvious to me that Irvin admires and believes in Tebow.
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