Right up front I should tell you that as a Tennessee native I naturally hate anything that’s come through Gainesville, from Spurrier to Erin Andrews to Lane Kiffin’s wife, but my distaste for Tebow goes beyond that. As Bill James once wrote of Hal Chase, there is something about him that shines through so false, yet looks so true to so many.
I should also confess I have a natural suspicion of those who wear their religion on their sleeves. I am a bad Catholic, but I take Matthew 6:1 seriously (or at least I hide behind it). But it’s not Tebow’s public displays that bother me per se, but the theology that lies behind them, a prosperity gospel the belies everything I was taught and believe.
This idea that Tebow’s success is a direct result of his piety is patently offensive. Many have pointed out the flip side of that position. If Tebow’s goodness is responsible for his success, then those he vanquished must be evil. The idea that God is punishing evil football players when there are so many doing evil in so many more important positions seems a waste of His time. And what are we to make of Tebow’s losses? Did he lust after a cheerleader?
Even more offensive is Tebow’s chip on his shoulder, when he should be carrying humility. This attitude isn’t uncommon among evangelicals. They always see themselves as under attack. Tebow hasn’t bothered to step forward to contradict his supporters when they lash out at his critics as heretics, as if a slow delivery without accuracy is sanctioned in the Gospels. Tebow himself, after breaking his vow not to do any commercials until he was the starter, stars in a commercial stating that no one thought he could get a scholarship, and no one expected him to play pro.
The problem with that is Tebow was one of the most sought after recruits of all time coming out of high school. He was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy and no one believes he can’t make it in the NFL. It’s just that few who watch him believe he belongs at quarterback.
Tebow’s Christianity, Christianism Andrew Sullivan would call it, is utterly lacking in humility. He gives lip service to God, but he gives him no credit. Instead he claims it for himself, referencing how hard he will work, how much time he will log in the weight room, in film sessions, working on his mechanics. Tebow tells his he will become a great quarterback through a supreme act of the human will. He mouths platitudes about how “first and foremost I want to give credit to Jesus Christ,” but first and foremost he’s finding a camera. Otherwise he would have already given credit to Jesus before the interview began.
In doing so he’s denying God, as is every professional athlete who claims their success is due to their hard work. Hard work is required, of that there is no question, but there are is minimum amount of athleticism one must have to even get a chance. Tim Tebow is 6-foot-5, weighs 240 pounds and runs like a deer. That’s a gift from God, a gift he has worked hard to maximize, but he works no harder than my friend Ronnie Grable who was 5-foot-3, weighed 130 pounds and ran a 5.0 40-yard dash. Ronnie busted his ass every bit as much as Tebow does. But he didn’t get a single call from a college coach.
I don’t want to get into a deep discussion of x’s and o’s, but Tebow’s wins all have the same look. He plays poorly, the defense plays great, keeps Denver within a single possession of taking the lead and Tebow rides his athleticism and ability to make something out of broken plays to pull out a late win. It’s not a bad strategy. It was the one that Dan Reeves used with Elway. But I’ve never heard Tebow give any credit to the staff’s strategy of taking the game out of his hands, or completely gutting their offense for him.
In the end, Tebow’s ethos is selfish. His idol is himself. Football is a team game. It’s about sublimating your needs to the needs of the team. Was Tebow doing that when he was whining this summer when he was whining about not having the starting job handed to him? Is Tebow acting selflessly when he insists on playing a position where he is a liability rather than switching to one, say tight end, where he really can be great? When was the last time you saw him defer the postgame interview to Von Miller?
Tebow and his fans like to frame his life in terms of his religion, from his missionary work converting a population that is 90 percent Catholic to “Christianity,” to his success on the football field. But what the story is missing is the humility on which Christ’s teachings rest.
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