My mom has always been a fan of the shows where the good guy wins. As long as I can remember, we've watched the shows where criminals are caught, must pay for their actions and justice is met. You name it--Law and Order, CSI, and of course, Walker Texas Ranger. I grew up cheering for the good guy with her, which is why I'm not too surprised to find out that my mom has been just as excited to watch football since Tim Tebow has come along as I am. Neither of us know much about football (to my dad and brothers' dismay), but according to word on the street, you don't really need to know much about football to watch Tebow play--you just get to see the good guy win (and win, and win).
But, Wait! Before you stop there because you think this is just another rambling about Tebow to add to the plethora of articles out there--about whether or not he's a good quarterback, what the secret to his success is, whether or not he needs to tone down his religious comments, about Tebowmania, Tebowing, or any other verb, noun, and adjective that has been created out of the madness--let me just say that this article is just a simple appreciation of a good guy. And whether or not he ever wins another football game, I just want to take a moment to share why I appreciate Tim Tebow. And it starts with what Tebow is not.
Apart from the countless number of articles on Tebow that have been popping up all over the internet, there has been another topic that has come up quite frequently--the decline of real men. There's been entire books written lately about how increasingly more men are staying at home well into their 30s, playing video games for the majority of their day, not finishing college degrees (or finishing much of anything), and yet still having all the "fun" with any woman they want. Our movies reflect these type of men; college campuses reflect the epidemic that seems to be occurring in our culture today; I read an article on CNN a couple of months ago that helped paint a picture of the dilemma our society faces today. As a single woman, I speak on behalf of us all that these trends are anything but encouraging.
In the midst of it all, enters Tim Tebow. He's a successful college football player who makes it to the NFL and continually proves critics and foes wrong with his success. He has multiple endorsements, is talked about all over the news and internet, and within the last few weeks has become one of the most talked about athletes in any professional league.
Now, we've seen these guys before--the extremely successful, nothing-stands-in-their-way type of athletes that people can't stop talking about.
The difference with Tebow is that instead of hearing about which celebrity woman is his newest accessory or how many houses he owns or how much money he makes or the brawl he got himself into at a bar, we hear about the hospital he's building in the Philippines, the sick kids he's visiting in hospitals, the fact that he has claimed to be saving himself for marriage and--overshadowing all of it--he has a deep and bold commitment to live for Jesus Christ (and that commitment far outshines any of his football achievements).
At this point, every single girl in America should be rejoicing. Not because we have a chance to be with Tim Tebow; not because he is perfect by any means and should be the standard to which all men should be held. But, we should be overjoyed when we acknowledge that celebrity athletes are a beacon for the culture of the social "norm." Just when we started to hum the tune "Where have all the good men gone?", a celebrity athlete steps in and shows us that good guys in their truest form still do exist. They're not all professional athletes that the world is talking about, or men who have been given the enormous platform that Tebow has. But, guys like Tebow remind us all that the guys worth waiting for are out there and that our hopes of finding a man who can rise above the cultural norm, work hard, and take a stand for what they believe, all the while remaining humble and holding fast to Jesus Christ is not just a shot in the dark.
So, thank you, Tim Tebow for rising to the challenge and showing America that fame and success doesn't have to equate to arrogance and immorality; and thank you for reminding a disillusioned generation of girls that good guys--even celebrity athlete ones--still do exist.
Out of the Tebow madness, a few really well-thought articles have been written. Here are the best I've seen:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7319858/the-people-hate-tim-tebow A very interesting evaluation from a secular perspective as to why there's so much "buzz" about Tebow.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/12/13/tebow-calvin-and-the-hand-of-god-in-sports/ The most in-depth and well-written answer to the daunting question of whether or not God is helping Tebow win games. (The last 2 paragraphs are the best, in my opinion.)
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/current-events/features/27544-tebow-time A great challenge for believers in how we need to respond to Tebow--regardless of where we land in our views about him.
No comments:
Post a Comment