As the 2012 presidential election inches closer, it seems there is one surefire way President Obama can win over the Republican vote. All he has to do is partake in a little something called “Tebowing.”
The national sensation and starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow, has kick started a self-image marketing campaign more brilliant than Barack Obama’s own in 2008.
The past few weeks have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride with this controversial sports figure. The non-stop commentary on the radio, TV, Internet and all over local coffee shops seemed normal for the enthusiastic sports fans of Denver. But recently it’s become obvious that this story has spread far beyond the Rocky Mountains and into a national news topic that fans, critics, sportscasters and reporters can’t seem to get enough of.
With Bill Cosby Tebowing on national television and practically calling the guy God in an online interview, and NBC and CBS fighting over who gets to air his infamous comebacks, it’s become something bigger than just sports news.
The question many people are starting to ask is: why? Is it because he’s an amazing quarterback? Probably not, although his winning record proves he does something right. But, everyone knows his quarterback skills need some improving to say the least.
Is it because he’s incredibly outspoken about his Christian beliefs? Perhaps.
Or is it because he has brilliantly marketed himself to a nation that literally begs for role models like this? Most likely.
In the last election, Obama won over the hearts, minds and spirits of more than 50 percent of the country, but that’s nothing compared to the number of Americans who absolutely adore Tebow and what he stands for.
Never in the history of sports has there been such hype about someone who has done so little with their career. That’s not to say he won’t eventually do well or that he hasn’t done well already, but we must ask ourselves – has he done enough yet to be so heavily discussed, debated, criticized or even loved?
Which brings us to the second part of the Tebow phenomenon – how the story has moved past the male-dominated readers of ESPN blogs and avid sports fans and into the vast web of mass media. Practically overnight, he has become a national role model.
If you don’t believe it, just do a Google search of the man’s name. You are likely to find a YouTube “movie” about him. Or you might discover that for this holiday season you need to buy a box of Tim Tebow Christmas cards.
Nearly 700,000 people follow Tebow on Twitter. But unlike the Twitter pages of other sports figures or celebrities, his is full of tweets from fans all over the country asking him to pray for illnesses and family issues. That’s a bit personal for a complete stranger, isn’t it?
Since the origination of Hollywood and national media, we Americans have fallen into a bad habit of putting celebrities on an impossible pedestal, only to be disappointed or hurt when we realize the role model we looked up to is only human. They make mistakes. They have weaknesses.
Lately it seems as though we’ve taken this so-called “role model complex” a bit too far. We did the same thing with Obama in 2008 by elevating him to a standard no president could reach. Now, nearly four years later, reality has set in that he is simply a man in a powerful (temporary) position, not a miracle worker.
Isn’t it time for us to simply own up to the truth and admit that we don’t know Tim Tebow and it shouldn’t matter what religion he practices or how he acts off the field?
Because at the end of the fourth quarter, he’s just a man filled with good and bad qualities like the rest of us who happens to play a very popular sport for a living.
Denise Day lives in Littleton.
