NFL: Is “Tebowing” an attack on Christianity?

Hotair ^ | 12/05/2011 | Howard Portnoy

[SeekAndFind]

The question that forms the title of this post has been getting a good bit of play in conservative circles of late. It was hinted at in a segment of FOX and Friends on Friday that featured NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton. And it is the main focus of a column by National Review Online news editor Daniel Foster that appeared on Saturday.

“Tebowing,” should the term be unfamiliar, takes its name from another quarterback, current Denver Broncos play caller Tim Tebow. More specifically, the term designates the now-viral mockery of his habit of kneeling down and bowing his head after a touchdown to commune with his God.

As Foster writes with more than a hint of indignation, Tebowing his become an Internet phenomenon, with its own website, a Twitter account, and most recently a YouTube video titled “Tebowing for Dummies.” At such sites, Foster continues:

[Y]ou can see an act of communion with one’s creator rendered as a bit of pop-cultural ephemera, [complete with] pictures of folks striking the pose everywhere from Oxford to Istanbul, with that muddle of irony and enthusiasm that has become my generation’s trademark.

Foster’s obvious pique at these send-ups derives in part from the fact of Tebow’s wholesomeness (he is in Foster’s words “squeaky clean, in a sport that notoriously is not”). Wherein, Foster insists, lies the origins of Tebowing. It is, in short, “the power of Tebow’s evangelical-Christian faith, and the earnestness with which he professes it [that] seems to annoy so many people.”

I’m going to have toss out my red challenge flag here. Foster may be right that for some people, the problem isn’t Tebow’s religiosity but the fact that professional sports are “so filled with clichéd Jesus praise that” fans doubt his sincerity. But I submit that for many who prefer to spend their Sundays watching the exquisite choreography of a perfectly executed screen pass, the problem is Tebow’s self-absorption.

Tebow is free to give “mad respect” to his lord, but I’d rather he do it on his own time. A number of players cross themselves on every play, but they do it discreetly — and expeditiously. Tebow’s prayer timeouts, by contrast, are as gratuitously in-your-face as the most flagrant end zone dance. And they last as long. Yet, according to his supporters, all of footballdom is supposed to give him a pass because his purpose is holy. Isn’t that what churches are for?

Another, subtler, ingredient in the widespread antipathy toward Tebow is that he is an anomaly. His success as an NFL quarterback (he is 4 and 1 since replacing Kyle Orton at the helm of the Broncos offense) doesn’t make sense to diehard football fans. His passing numbers — he has a 45% completion rate — are awful. His team is winning through a combination of razzle-dazzle and offensive schemes that haven’t been used by college, let alone NFL, coaches in two decades.

I am predicting that “this too shall pass” (to cite a proverb that Tebow should appreciate because of its religious roots). Sooner or later all 31 remaining teams in the league will develop defensive strategies to counter Denver’s pre-Knute Rockne offense, and Tebow — and Tebowing — will be gone.

[Tallguy]

I watched NFL Network yesterday and saw Irvin give Tebow nothing but respect, including praising him for being an outspoken Christian. Not sure what you saw, but it was obvious to me that Irvin admires and believes in Tebow.

So many of these sports analysis panels are point-counterpoint. I think that sometimes these guys are 'assigned' the negative point-of-view just because it's their turn in the barrel.

[Retired Greyhound]

When did the habit of NFL players introducing themselves using their high school, instead of the college they attended, start?

Since most NFL players don't graduate from their college, it seems appropriate to me that they introduce their high school.

I prefer it, actually.

[Larry Lucido]

LOL!

[dfwgator]

This is what I see happening.

Jacksonville, with a new owner, desperate to create a buzz for the franchise, makes Denver a deal for Tebow.

Season ticket sales in Jax would skyrocket, Denver parlays Tebow’s success into getting draft picks, they would probably also get Gabbert out of the deal, to have their new QB, until they get their future QB if Gabbert doesn’t work out.

[bjorn14]

“Probably those ones didn’t go to college, there’s actually a pretty sizable set that didn’t. “

Huh? I can think of two NFL players in the last 40 years who didn’t go to college (save some obscure foreign kicker). That was DT Otis Sistrunk of the Oakland Raiders (1972-8) and Arizona Cardinals DT Eric Swann (1991-2000). They were discovered playing semi-pro ball. There are a few examples of NFL players playing different sports in college, the most current is San Diego Chargers TE Antonio Gates who played basketball at Kent State.

[MNGal]

A picture like that (prayer circle) gives me hope! Thanks for posting. It’s easy for Christians to feel drowned out and alone on occasion in this world. It’s uplifting to see young men humbling themselves on their knees in prayer.

[MNGal]

” played it over giving time for the Vikings crew ...”

As a lifelong MN resident and default Vikings fan, I can testify that the Vikings need all the help they can get and from anywhere that they can get it.

[RoadTest]

“”Isn’t that what churches are for”??
Get back in your ghetto, Christians!
This is “freedom from religion” at its worst.”

I agree. They don’t want Cain off the plantation or God out of the steeplehouse.

[discostu]

Here lists 5 but says there are many more:
http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-nfl-players-did-not-go-college.html

I think you mostly see it in the trenches. Offensive and defensive lineman seem to be the most common to skip it going semi-pro or just getting into it through other means. With a 53 man roster, an average career of 3 years and 7 rounds to the draft there’s a lot of different ways to get into the NFL, especially for the guys that won’t be getting much glory.

[RoadTest]

Good observation!

[sanjuanbob]

lol...fair enough.

[rochester_veteran]

MNGal wrote:

A picture like that (prayer circle) gives me hope! Thanks for posting. It’s easy for Christians to feel drowned out and alone on occasion in this world. It’s uplifting to see young men humbling themselves on their knees in prayer.

It still gives me the chills when I see them pray like this after doing battle on the gridiron! Here's another one after the Anderson vs Taylor game back on 9/1, both teams intermingled, praying together, Christian fellowship at its best! It give me a great feeling of hope:

The guy standing in the middle leading the prayer is Taylor Head Coach Ron Korfmacher. He's turned the program around and accomplished it walking in the Lord Jesus' way.

[Wild Berry]

“this too shall pass” is not from Christianity, as far as I know. It is from Siam...

[Reeses]

Tim Tebow building hospital in Philippines

Smackdown! Tebow is the left's worst nightmare: mom refused abortion, homeschooled, religious, has magical "luck", finished a game with a broken leg, virgin, Heisman Trophy winner, on and on.

Hate comes from envy which comes from vanity. Those that envy his obvious competitive God advantage don't seek to acquire one themselves. They seek to mock and destroy his. The best way to counter the vain is to mock them back. Like Satan, the vain have zero pain tolerance for being mocked.

[SaraJohnson]

I love it when humanists think they rule the culture and all public thought and activity until suddenly they discover that they do not. There’s a Christian lose in the public square!

I don’t know about this author, but the sports media mob turned against Tebow because of his public stance against abortion. That really set them off in a hate frenzy.

They are angry they have not had the power to turn everyone against Tebow and make him bow to them in appology and reform to their idea of political correctness. Ridicule is all they have left and that is not working so well, either.

[SamAdams76]

Tebow is definitely getting the Sarah Palin treatment from the oh-so-tolerant liberals. Tebow's faith and strength drives these liberals to the point of madness. In their minds, Tebow must be destroyed.

Mark my words, if Tebow keeps winning games, the liberals will find some way to tarnish his image. It might be some girl from his high school, hard up for money, that they coaxed to come forward to falsely accuse him of something improper in exchange for some cash, or maybe a high school teammate that holds a grudge will concoct a story of how they smoked marijuana together down at the creek after practices. In some form or another, the smears will come if Tebow keeps winning. Because the liberals hate with a passion any individual that made it on his/her own and holds oneself to high moral standards.

[rochester_veteran]

Tebow is definitely getting the Sarah Palin treatment from the oh-so-tolerant liberals. Tebow's faith and strength drives these liberals to the point of madness. In their minds, Tebow must be destroyed.

That's exactly what they're doing, playing the Alinsky "Rules for Radicals" playbook:

From: Discover the Networks: Saul Alinsky

Among the most vital tenets of Alinsky’s method were the following:

“Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more live up to their own rules than the Christian Church can live up to Christianity.”

“No organization, including organized religion, can live up to the letter of its own book. You can club them to death with their ‘book’ of rules and regulations.”

“Practically all people live in a world of contradictions. They espouse a morality which they do not practice.… This dilemma can and should be fully utilized by the organizer in getting individuals and groups involved in a People’s Organization. It is a very definite Achilles’ heel even in the most materialistic person. Caught in the trap of his own contradictions, that person will find it difficult to show satisfactory cause to both the organizer and himself as to why he should not join and participate in the organization. He will be driven either to participation or else to a public and private admission of his own lack of faith in democracy and man.”

We need to understand where the leftists are coming from, although I'm speaking to the choir here. :-)