The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Rod Jetton Rebuts

Jonathan has some great points on Tebow that I agree with. I’m an Evangelical Baptist preacher’s son, and I admit I have found myself rooting for Tebow this season.

There are two reasons I have become a Tebow fan:

First, he made games exciting. I am a Green Bay Packers fan and a huge Brett Favre fan. I loved rooting for Favre because he gave 100%, and you never knew what would happen. He sometimes lost, sometimes threw a pick, but more times than not, he did something unbelievable and won the game.

Tebow is like that too. Yes, he has some terrible throws, and makes some really bad plays, but you never know whats going to happen in a game. While it’s too early to compare him to Brett Favre, like Favre, he has won more than he has lost. He gives 100%, and his first year reminds me of when Favre first started for the Packers in 1992. Coaches, critics and fans all wondered if Favre, and his unconvential style, could ever produce consistent wins.

Well, we all know how that story ended. He worked hard improved and started having more good plays than bad and in 1995, 1996 and 1997 was the NFL MVP, including 2 Super Bowl apperances, one SB win, and one of the highest winning percentage of any quarterback in leauge history.

Lets be honest about the NFL today. The best quarterbacks drop back, throw the ball, get a gazillion yards, score lots of touchdowns and win the game. For me, it is starting to be very boring. Brady and Rodgers are great quarterbacks, but they do the same thing almost every play and its predictable.

Fans want excitement. They wanted it in the Roman gladiator fights thousands of years ago, and they want it now. Remember Mike Tyson? He was so dominant in his early career that people stopped watching his fights, because they knew he would knock his opponent out quickly.

But there is one thing we all want almost as much as excitement. We want to win. Tebow gave us some very exciting games this year. Games that went down to the wire, and none of us could have predicted the outcome. He also won more than he lost, got his team into the playoffs and beat the Steelers in the first round. As long as he keeps winning everyone will love him.

I’m rooting for him because he is giving 100%, seems like a great kid with a good attitude, and he is winning. The excitement and close games got my attention, but his winning and making the playoffs made it really interesting. As long as he keeps winning his fan base will keep growing, because we want a quarterback who is different and exciting.

Secondly, I respect his faith. He is not the first Christian to play football, and talk about Jesus Christ. He is not even the loudest. I loved Reggie White, and for those who do not remember, Reggie was very vocal about his faith. He was also the most dominant defensive lineman in NFL history. Oh, by the way he didnt really get famous untill he won the SB with the Packers. Like Tebow, he always thanked God in all his interviews and he usally led the after game prayer with the other players.

So why the big fuss over Tim Tebow’s faith? Tebow made waves because of his pro-life commercial. But can you blame him for his willingness to promote life? I mean, his mom was advised to have an abortion, which would have ended his football career before it ever started. If you don’t know the story, she was in a coma from a rare parasite she encountered in the Philippines, and the doctors correctly gave her a very powerful antibiotic to kill the parasite and save her life. Unfortunately, she nor they knew she was pregnant. She survived, but they advised her to abort the baby because the chances of it surviving without serious mental or physical problems were very low. She refused; and on four different occasion Tebow was almost born prematurely. She was bedridden for the last three months of the pregnancy and unbelievably, a healthy baby boy named Tim Tebow was born. I bet if the rest of us had been in his shoes, we wouldn’t be shy about promoting life either.

The funny thing is that the commerical was not a hard hitting anti-choice ad. It was a very positive kind of funny commerical about Tim and celebrating life. The pro-life and pro-choice advocates stoked up the controversy and made the ad far more confrontational than it was. I bet most people have only heard the rhetoric, but never seen the ad.

So now we have the “controversial” football player that mentions Jesus and his faith like so many others before him, but for some reason, this kid really gets under some folks’ skins. I think we all need to sit back take a deep breath and relax.

Tebow has impressed me with how he shows his faith. Like Jonathan wrote, he is always positive, always kind, never condescending nor judgemental. I think he would be a good example for other Christians to follow. His style reminds me of St. Francis of Assisi who said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” Tim never has a mean word for anyone and always promotes his faith in a positive way.

Sometimes Christians are so judgemental. I sure was before I had all my problems, and made so many mistakes. Those humbled me and caused me to be more understanding and more forgiving. Which was one of Jesus’ first lessons during the Sermon on the Mount. I admire Tim Tebow because I am in awe of such a young man who has had so much success and seems to be able to stay humble, loving and kind.

Like Artur Davis, I hope he doesn’t stumble. Maybe because of my weakness in handling political success and the criticism that came with it, I fear for Tim Tebow. I pray that he stays just the way he is today. A kind, caring, helpful and hardworking example of what we all should be.

Tebow reminds me of what Kipling wrote, “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same. Your’s is the earth and everything that’s in it, And- which is more- you’ll be a man my son!”

Tebow has had both triumph and disaster on the football field, but through it all he has seemed to stay positive, humble, and helpful.

I only know he inspires me to help others more and judge other less, and if each of us would be more like that, the world would be a better place.