The Truth About Tebow

Again this weekend an apparent miracle took place in Denver on the NFL’s Wild-Card weekend. I’m pretty certain it wasn’t divine intervention that was responsible for the Broncos’ victory. What it was, however, was an unorthodox quarterback with unorthodox abilities focusing those talents at the right time to come up with the desired result. I know there are many people who believe Tebow has God influencing the results of his games, but I can’t buy into that.

That’s not really what’s important though. What’s important is the fact that Tebow led his team to a huge playoff victory. His numbers weren’t staggering, although they were much improved. The victory wasn’t dominating but it was dramatic. Tebow just did what he needed to do and his game is getting broader and better all the time.

Despite the fact the Broncos have gone from 1-5 to making to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs,  there is still this swirl of criticism directed at Tebow. What exactly does he have to do for people to give him the credit he deserves? The guy wins games and usually does it in striking fashion. On top of that, he does it while being a great role model for anyone who might be paying attention. He’s enthusiastic, polite and charitable with his time. He seems to be a bona fide nice guy. Of course he’s also a devoted Christian who displays his commitment to his God very openly. An awful lot of the poisonous commentary directed at Tebow is because of his public displays of his faith. As someone who isn’t religious or even very spiritual I haven’t found any of religious demonstrations or proclamations off-putting in any way. Maybe it’s because he isn’t terribly preachy or judgmental, at least not publicly.

Much of the venom spewed at Tebow is embarrassing and only reflects badly on his critics. In Detroit’s one-sided victory of the Broncos in October, Tony Scheffler and Stephen Tulloch both resorted to mocking Tebow’s on field praying, better known as ‘Tebowing’. I immediately cringed when I saw this watching the NFL highlights. I couldn’t help thinking, “how old are you people?” Sheffler and Tulloch’s behaviour looked like something a couple of eight graders would do. Not productive. Not legitimate criticism and certainly not funny.

Negative evaluation of his ability as a professional quarterback and his performance on the field is certainly fair and reasonable but condemnation of Tebow based on his faith is unwarranted and childish. If you don’t think Tebow’s a good quarterback, fine. But if you don’t like his religion don’t try and mask your bias under the guise of a review of his performance as a football player. And, if you feel the need to mock his beliefs, maybe just keep it to yourself and grow up instead.