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I'm a Minnesota Girl, living in the south. I tell my friends I try not to talk and think like a Yankee, but sometimes I slip up!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

I'm no fan of "Showman Tim"



You could probably guess that. All you'd have to do is look back in time and see my inability to think clearly when confronted with Sarah Palin, and my endless critique of her, before she became irrelevant. Because Tim Tebow is Sarah Palin. He's a carnival of fan adoration and an object of polarization to those who aren't fans. He's a big hype, modestly contributing actions to build the myth and believe that he is the REAL DEAL. He has fallen prey to his own press, much of which follows him because he does things he's sure will make them follow. He trades on his own faith and religion publicly; I believe he believes, but true believers don't have to demonstrate on a grand stage with Biblical verses painted on their faces and their own version of the Catholic genuflect rolled out on the football field. It's rolled out only when they win or he makes a big play, not if things are not going well. The media makes much about how big an audience his TV games draw. Easy to explain....there are thousands and thousands of fans, but there are also thousands and thousands like me, who really despise the grandstanding. We turn on the TV to watch the train wreck.



Tim Tebow is a great athlete that could have a stunning 10-15 year career in the league as a tight end. But there are no screaming fans and endless press for tight ends, so Tim will not accept his limitations and has determined that he will stay as a quarterback. In the offseason, they will work him endlessly, trying to get his skillset matched up with what a quarterback in the NFL has to do....things that young Cam Newton does effortlessly. So Tebow is doggedly going to stay with the job that makes the headlines. And accept credit for the turnaround of a team that had no chance of winning without their bright defense and excellent kicker. No need to tell me how the other players feel about him. I can guess based on how his former Florida team felt. A grandstander. That is why he stayed on the field after his team lost miserably Saturday night. The rest of the team headed straight for the locker room, to heal, reflect and grieve. Tebow stayed on the field and danced around, congratulating a couple of Patriots, meandering aimlessly, press following, taking energy off the Patriots, who played a superb game.



Did no one tell him that losers leave the field to the victors?



Like Sarah, Tim likes the bigger stage. It fits with his viewpoint about himself. He doesn't have to listen to critics. They are "the haters". His following will lift him up. 10 years from now, we'll probably wake up and his wife will have hit him with a golf club somewhere in Orlando.



I will do my best not to continue to post about him endlessly.







8 comments:

Marion said...

I love and admire Tim Tebow. It's SOOOO politically incorrect to even admit you're a Christian, much less in public. I think he has major balls. Our great country was built as a Christian nation and we should be able to show our faith. More power to Tim!!! xo

Pam said...

Wow! I'm not a huge sport's fan, but I do admire Tim for being loud and proud about his faith if that's the way he feels.

I know little about his abilities as a player. However, considering all the over-paid athletes who are constantly in the headlines for drugs or arrests or womanizing, I think he's pretty refreshing. Some of the 'bad' boy athletes could use some of Tim rubbing off on them.

Donna said...

Tim Tebow is a mediocre QB, and I don't see him ever becoming greater than a mediocre QB. If I turn out to be wrong, I'll happily admit it.

As to his religious choices, Quid, I find it fascinating that you know what goes on in his head and can state, unequivocally, the motivation behind his decisions (QB position vs. tight end) and actions (A grandstander. That is why he stayed on the field after his team lost miserably Saturday night. ...Tebow stayed on the field and danced around, congratulating a couple of Patriots, meandering aimlessly, press following, taking energy off the Patriots).

Btw, where does his background as a Christian fit into this profile picture of yours? Do you think his parents became missionaries knowing he would one day become a football star and have the press following him everywhere?? Worked like a charm, I'd say.

When did we stop standing up for people's religious choices in this country? Worse yet, when did we start trashing people for how they choose to express their religious beliefs - and make assumptions about who they really are and what they really think? I've heard Tebow express the joy and happiness being a Christian brings him. I've never heard him say others are wrong not to feel that way, or that they're going to hell in a handbasket if they don't feel that way.

You're entitled to be who you are and express yourself however you choose. Tim Tebow is entitled to be exactly who he is and express himself however he chooses. Shame on anyone who doesn't stand up for his right to be that person.

quid said...

Tim Tebow is at work when he plays for the Broncos.

In case anybody missed it, in your regular work, you are entitled to believe in what you want as your religion; if your faith requires you to wear a yarmulke, or ashes on Lent, you can do so. I don't remember any Christian tenet that you must wear undereye grease paint with a Biblical verse quote on your face. When something good happens to me at work, if I get praise or am introduced as a speaker at a meeting, I don't make the sign of the Orthodox cross, stop, genuflect or thank God. I think if I did, I would be asked to hold back on my religious expressions. There is a place where I do that. I would assume that there is a place where Tebow drops to his knees to thank God when something good happens.... to my way of thinking, its not on the sidelines after a big play. Note that he doesn't do it in the endzone. The league fines those types of "celebratory actions", and what a cataclysmic controversy that would cause.

Do we want our public figures to be loud and proud about their religion when they are at work? Maybe somebody does.

Honestly, I don't know anything about his parents other than his mom featured his birth story on TV to demonstrate why no one should get an abortion.

I do hope that Tebow expresses his Christian joy in the privacy of his friends and family circle, and in church, and in any place where it feels natural, and not a big stage production. And not at work. Like the rest of us.

And, if you look backwards in the blog, you'll find probably 6 or 7 posts on how asinine athletes are based on their public issues. Like Plaxico shooting himself in the leg, etc., etc. So the road runs both ways with me.

Do your job. Bring your athletic skills to the football field and your career and your team will prosper.

Good to see you again, Donna! I've been thinking about you much.

Hugs.

Donna said...

Sorry, I'm not buying your "at work" reasoning. This is who Tim Tebow was before he was hired. They were aware of who he was, and I'm positive Tim Tebow made it very clear to the people who write his paycheck that he would continue to be this person. I SAY I'm positive because logic tells me if it weren't acceptable, that would have been part of his contract and he would have already been sued for breach of contract.

Here's the thing - this is not about you. What you do or don't do at work has no bearing on this. "To your way of thinking" doesn't apply. You don't dictate right and wrong to his bosses. That's for them to decide.

You CAN voice your opinion to them. You CAN refuse to give them a penny of your hard-earned money, you CAN attempt to influence others to do the same, but that's it when it comes to anything changing about Tebow or the Broncos.

You might want to take a few minutes just to check into the strong influence Christianity has had on his life. Or not. Your choice.

Hugs to you too! xoxo ♥!!

quid said...

I'm interested in the topic because I'm interested in football. If I'm interested in learning more about Christianity, I think I can find other sources than the life of Tim Tebow.

I don't have to change anything about the Broncos and Tebow. It will change as a matter of course.

And perhaps you could view Brokaw's "In God They Trust".

Donna said...

I'm also interested in football. I never suggested you learn anything about Christianity. Nor did I suggest that learning about Tim Tebow would teach you anything about Christianity.

quid said...

Well, now, Showman Tim can see how much the show works in the biggest sports city in the land.

Odd that he has finally seemed to agree that he could contribute on special teams... he might actually have a career if he doesn't insist on playing quarterback.

Jets fans may be the toughest crowd in the nation. I wish him luck.

And the Broncos can discard the high school version of the offense
they ran last season and rejoin the ranks of professional sports teams.