Sports fans have been waiting for this. It’s been a long time since the Denver Broncos were a watchable football team. Though they took their division championship in 2005, the Broncos have yet to return to the playoffs. Trading away Jay Cutler and acquiring Kyle Orton may have seemed wise at the time, but Broncos fans have quickly grown impatient waiting for their should-have-been franchise quarterback to make a move.
Enter Florida Gators’ championship- and Heisman-trophy-winning leader Tim Tebow. The rookie currently sits in the third-string quarterback position for the Broncos, but has quickly (only one game into the regular season) drawn some considerable attention from the Colorado fan base.
It is often difficult for rookie quarterbacks to gain media attention in the NFL, mostly because they are not playing. But this situation is the opposite for Tebow. He certainly isn’t playing, but that has not kept him from being a “polarizing” figure, intentionally or not, this season. Colorado Independent writer David O. Williams puts it this way:
Overtly religious backup Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is the fan favorite in Denver these days over laid-back, hybrid-driving, conservation-minded starting quarterback Kyle Orton. And their hardcore Republican boss, Hall of Famer John Elway, will ultimately decide who takes the snaps.
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The question, for some fans, is the degree to which politics and religion will play into that decision, or whether both players will simply be judged on their performance in games and practice (read the whole story here).
An ESPN Sportscenter package ran Sunday morning about the “controversy” in Denver. This controversy, according to the ESPN reporter, is much bigger than Colorado. “Tebow has become the poster boy for Evangelical Christianity in the sports arena, which places Tebow at the epicenter of a cultural storm that divides our nation.”
After video of Tebow presenting a standard gospel message – faith in Christ leads to heaven, while the opposite consequence is to spend eternity in hell – the report features comedian Matt Besser, whose enjoys “hating Tebow.” For Besser, Tebow’s message is alienating. Fans who do not share Tebow’s faith perspective, Besser states, will likely experience a sort of tension when deciding whether or not it is right to root for the young quarterback.
From another angle, Tebow fans who do agree with or are inspired by his story and message likely defend their “hero” too much, calling every critique of his football form an assault on his faith, the report supposes.
But the crux of this story is neglected by both individuals and the groups they subsequently represent. Tebow is a football player. In his own mind, he may very well be an Evangelical Christian first, but to those of us who have the right to speak about, critique and root for him, he is an athlete. In the past, we’ve let plenty of other athletes do and say some extremely offensive things. And, we’ve let them continue in their sport, unfazed by any legal consequences that should come from their actions. This happens will all celebrities as well.
It seems as though faith, when expressed in the public square, is just one more offensive action people would could do well without.
You can watch that Sportscenter package here.
