Tebowing

Tim Tebow is the kind of person I've always been suspicious of - handsome, talented, kind, principled... I use the term "suspicious" instead of something like envious because, being who I am, being like Tim Tebow doesn't sound too appealing... or... fun. Instead, my suspicions are aroused any time something, or in this case, someone, seems too good to be true. There's a reason why every Tim Tebow joke involves him as a pedophile-hiding-bodies-in-the-closet type. There's gotta be more to it. And being a Gator never helped.

The point of my ramblings today, if I may be so bold as to assert that there IS one, is not to hate on Tebow. Although it took awhile, his sainthood was established in my world the night he helped to take down the evil evil Pittsburgh Steelers. But, is it a question of good and evil?

Tim Tebow, along with the Denver Broncos, is now a part of "America's Team" [completely different than Team America, f--- yeah***]. Mainly, I guess, because it's a great underdog story. The last-minute, impossible wins and a quarterback who wasnevergonnamakeit create a pretty good story for the media and its consumers. But we can't ignore the Jesus factor.

It isn't my purpose to criticize Tebow's faith and borderline televangelism. I truly think he should be able to say what he wants, turn off or offend who he might, as I'm sure there are also a lot of fans who love and respect him for that as well. Far more interesting than one player's kind of unsensational faith (as he certainly isn't the first), is the media's fascination with it all.

Living in Florida, amidst so many (ugh) Gators, I've been hearing about Tebow, his virginity, and his favorite Bible verses for some time. Once he left for the NFL, I was quite certain he'd slide into relative obscurity, leaving me only to hear his name from a sullen Gator fan, reminiscing as a way to cope with a losing season. Then, of course, Tebow rises again (pun intended), and starts helping his team pull wins out of, well, nowhere- and the resurrection left him bigger than ever before. He went global.

Suddenly, my Facebook feed was full of friends "Tebowing", making a sensation out of Tebow's sideline prayers. And, those last-minute, crazy wins- well, they were nationally attributed to... Jesus.

Now, most of the time, this kind of stuff just makes me roll my eyes. I didn't actually start thinking critically about the whole phenomenon until Bill Maher got involved. After the Broncos got spanked by the Bills, Bill Maher posted the following on Twitter:

"Wow, Jesus just f---ed #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler 'Hey, Buffalo's killing them."

And outrage ensued. Demands to boycott HBO followed (Maher has a show on that channel). Eric Bolling of Fox News tweeted about it with the tagline #straighttohellBill (the hypocrisy is rich). And it was more than just media hype: people I know personally were discussing canceling their HBO.

Ok, so here is what in find interesting: not Bill Maher, who is always offensive to someone (and probably enjoying the publicity, right before the new season of his show premieres), and not that religion is such a hot topic (duh). But, if you find Maher's comment offensive, isn't the WHOLE thing offensive? Meaning, the Tebowing... the SNL skit with Jesus in the locker room... the entire concept that actual Jesus is actually taking the Denver Broncos under his actual arm and leading them to victory-ish... for Tim Tebow??? Doesn't he have more important things to do, like picking the winner of the Republican primary???

Maher's comments were an extension of the ridiculous metaphor... if Jesus is leading the Broncos to victory, it naturally follows that any losses would be, well... attributable to Satan. The whole thing is silly but, well... I guess that's my point. I think being offended by one thing would lend itself to being offended by the whole thing entirely. But, what do I know? The last time I said in a group that I didn't find Maher's comments offensive, I'm quite certain I was almost sent to the stake.

Any thoughts?