TIM TEBOW, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
On Sunday Jan. 15th in the Palm Beach Post, sports reporter Dave George published an article entitled TEBOWS TIME’S OVER. I could not disagree more. Tim Tebow is a man for all seasons, not just the football season. With the end of football, Tebow actually has more time to do the work that is his calling in life, his philanthropic activities. From what I know of him, Tim Tebow is a young man to be admired and emulated. His daily work makes most mere mortals like myself pale in comparison.
Many men would sell their souls to be a starting NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow is not one of them. Tim Tebow is not a football player who is devoutly religious; he is a devoutly religious man, who for part of the year plays football. What is the distinction? In Tebow’s life, football is not the top priority; in fact football is not only a sport that he loves but also a vehicle to challenge his resolve and to test his faith. Faith can motivate and guide a person to surmount life’s obstacles and failing that accept ones limitations humbly and with dignity. My father once told me that the game of football was perfectly analogous to living life; a series of hard knocks, successes and failures. At a very young age, Tebow has learned the lessons of football and life. Because they recognize him for being gracious, humble, fair, honest and genuine in his beliefs, Tebow is for the most part adored and admired by his teammates and opponents alike.
Why then do so many critics, especially in the media, despise, mock, belittle and ridicule Tim Tebow for expressing his gratitude and joy through his faith? While other players dance and taunt the opposition after a successful play or stick the ball into an opponents face, Tebow is more likely to point to the heavens or take a knee and give thanks to God for having such good fortune and to congratulate a teammate. Off the field reports of players being arrested, running drug rings, weapon violations, rape and domestic violence are common each year. The media has little criticism of such normal activity. Apparently, Tebow’s expression of religion and his involvement with philanthropic activities is much more offensive to the leftist media than violence and crime. Tim Tebow is an unacceptable role model to the left because many of his causes are viewed as conservative.
Wikipedia reports the following:
“Philanthropic Work
Tebow envisioned a foundation to give back to others during his college career. Due to NCAA regulations, Tebow, along with other University of Florida students, created First and 15. Through this organization, Tebow raised funds for Uncle Dick's Orphanage in the Philippines, founded by his father’s nonprofit association, the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association.[177] He also raised monies for Shands Hospital pediatric cancer center in Gainesville and a Disney trip for disadvantaged children. Upon graduation from University of Florida, Tebow launched the Tim Tebow Foundation in January 2010.[178]
The Foundation hopes to use the platform Tebow has to bring faith, hope and love to those who need it.[179] Currently,[when?] The Foundation is outreaching to four projects: the WI5H Program, partnering with CURE to construct a hospital in the Philippines, Timmy's Playrooms and financial support for Uncle Dick's Orphanage. The WI5H Program is part of the Jacksonville-based wish-granting organization, Dreams Come True. The program aims to bring the dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses to life by meeting Tim Tebow. CURE aims to bring healing throughout the developing world, targeting children who suffer from physical disabilities. The Tebow Foundation will partner with CURE to build a hospital in the Philippines’ to continue their mission. Timmy's Playroom, an extension of the First and 15 program at University of Florida, will create playrooms in children's hospital throughout the world. Uncle Dick's Orphanage will continue to be supported by the Foundation, as a place where hundreds of children are left homeless or abandoned every year.[180]
Evangelism
In the Philippines, Tim Tebow preached the Christian Gospel in front of schoolchildren and entire villages and assisted in medical care.[181][177] Moreover, Tebow supports more than 40 national evangelists working in that nation.[181] In the United States, he has shared his Christian faith in prisons and schools, to church and youth groups, and at meetings and conferences.[177][182]
Tebow CURE Hospital
CURE and the Tebow Foundation announced plans to build a children's hospital in the fall of 2011 in the Philippines, the country where Tebow was born. The Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, will hold 30 beds and will specialize on orthopedics. Construction begins in January 2012 and is expected to open in mid-2013. CURE's 12th hospital worldwide, they hope to heal deformities such as clubfoot, untreated burns, hydrocephalus and other conditions correctable with surgery. The cost of the project, $3 million, will come from donors from CURE and the Tebow Foundation. The hospital will include a Timmy's Playroom, which will bring faith, hope and love to the patient
Why would the media demonize a man of such good intentions and deeds? It’s because Tebow is pro-life, pro-home schooling, and an evangelical Christian, all beliefs and positions that the bigoted political left and the mainstream media will not tolerate from a public figure, even an athlete without political power.
Tebow is a young, inexperienced NFL quarterback, who to the chagrin of the media took a last place, mediocre football team to the second round of the NFL playoffs. Sales of his jersey and other NFL collectables are setting records. Denver Bronco games were among the most watched by TV viewers after Tebow became the starting quarterback.
America is a nation populated by mostly good, fair-minded people who have respect for other people’s beliefs and traditions. Typically, we do not ridicule the Muslim who kneels, bows and prays twice daily to Allah, or the Orthodox Jew who wears the yarmulke in public, neither the woman in burka or a Hindu displaying the colored dot "bindi” which represents a sign of piety and symbolizes the third eye -- the one focused inwards toward God.
The Christian has become the only group toward which ignorance, intolerance, bigotry and persecution is acceptable. In the athletic arena it is not uncommon to see a boxer kneel and make the sign of the cross before a bout, or baseball player hit a homer and kiss a medallion then point to the heavens. I have often seen groups of like-minded players, sometimes members of both teams, huddle together and pray before the start of a game. Reggie White, an ordained preacher, was legendary for leading prayer on the field before, during and after games and his was not alone and was not the first.
What sets Tim Tebow apart from all his overtly Christian predecessors? Why do the secularists and atheists fear him so intensely? Why do so many in the media mock and belittle him? I believe that it is because he is an inspired, optimistic, social conservative who has earned the admiration of the vast majority of Americans. I believe that a young man like Tim Tebow has an unintentional, polarizing effect. He either inspires a person to follow his lead or shames them, making them feel inadequate and insecure. This is not his goal, he just chooses to live a Christian life.
Tebow passes no judgment on others and he asks for nothing. He deserves what the Constitution guarantees; the right of the freedom of his religious expression anywhere and anytime he chooses, just like other Americans.
Let the intolerant bigots, the small-minded men and women that dominant the mass media baste in their own bile and mutual hate of Tim Tebow and Christian people. Let them mock believers on late night TV, how dare Tebow make them feel inadequate! How dare Tim Tebow be a better human being than the rest of us!
