Tim Tebow is More Than a Sports Story

COMMENTARY | The Tim Tebow story has gone beyond being a sports story. Tim Tebow has become a news story, a religion story and sort of a political story.

Even if you're not a football fan, you probably know by now that Tim Tebow is the quarterback (the guy who throws the ball) for the Denver Broncos, and that he has achieved some remarkable victories this season, the most recent in the Super Bowl playoffs over the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers, all the while humbly honoring his gridiron accomplishments with prayerful knees to the turf in what has become known as "Tebowing."

Furthermore, the young man just so happened to throw for 316 yards against the Steelers, conjuring all sorts of references to John 3:16, "For God so loved the world (et al)."

Tebow, and Tebowing, go beyond a sports story because the Tebow phenomenon is causing many Americans to either reaffirm, or to re-examine, how they believe and perceive in regards to spirituality.

Tebow most certainly has his devotees. The Broncos' contest against the Steelers had the highest pre-Super Bowl TV ratings in nearly a quarter century, and when Denver faces the New England Patriots on Saturday in evening prime time, a similar ratings bonanza awaits. Tebow's grip among evangelicals has been compared to Billy Graham in his Nixon-era prime. Some folks who are into both religion and sports (and movies) compare Tebow to Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa. There are critics, mind you, who assert that Tebow should take a spiritual chill pill and pay due diligence to the Sermon on the Mount, not being so public in expressing his faith.

Everyone seems to have an opinion, of course. Mine, as an admitted agnostic (sometimes society makes me feel I'm admitting a crime by being agnostic), is that Tebow should not be criticized or ridiculed. He has the right to say and do as he pleases, pretty much the same, for instance, as boxer Muhammad Ali or basketballer Bill Walton opposing the Vietnam War.

Plus, it's not like Tebow holds his "Tebowing" pose for the length of a church service. It's a fairly simple and brief gesture, and he's not the only football player who genuflects. Many baseball players point to the sky when they hit homers.

This brings me to my second opinion, or question. It seems that Tebow is getting inordinate attention. A former star player who was publicly religious was Reggie White of the Green Bay Packers, ordained as a teenager and known as the "Minister of Defense," who won two Super Bowls before dying young at 43 in 2004. Reggie White never drew the type of fan fervor that Tim Tebow attracts. Why? I wonder.