fiestavike wrote:I'm not trying to accuse anybody of anything, or criticize anybody, I'm just trying to say that it seems obvious to me that Tim Tebow evokes more passionate responses than any backup QB in football history. Maybe he stinks, maybe his intangibles have more value than some give them credit for, but that's a pretty tame issue to debate, not one that would fill up countless hours on ESPN. Certainly not one that should provoke the kind of reaction Tebow provokes. What do you think it is about Tebow that makes him such a lightning rod and makes him so fascinating to people? Why do so many people love him or hate him so intensely.
I think the reason primarily (if not entirely) based on the following two schools of thought
1) Tim Tebow is awful. He can't throw. Look at his numbers. Look at his mechanics. He's terrible.
2) Tim Tebow wins. He led his team to the playoffs. He may not be pretty, but he wins and that's all that matters. Because he wins, he's good.
There's rarely a player that's as "bad" as Tebow that somehow still wins. That's such a rarity. He's like an attraction (or sideshow, if you prefer) like that. The fact that he's in the New York market only magnifies that.
I also look to the fact that Tebow is hardly the first that credits his religion/God in professional sports. Heck, AD does the same in nearly every interview he conducts. His religion really isn't much of a factor. The big difference between the two is that Peterson is legit good. That's indisputable.
That could be. I've certainly known and talked to a number of people who dislike him for this exact reason.
Interesting. I've had many discussions outside of the boards as well. They've all revolved around his abilities/results with the most disparaging comment being that Tebow can be annoying when he cries after games or kneels all the time. Religion is hardly a talking point in our discussions. At best it's a footnote.
I'm just saying that in reality people's religious/political values do shape who they are and what they do/how they behave, so in that sense its hard to separate who Tim Tebow is from Evangelical Christianity.
I still think religion and sports/athletic ability are separate issues, this case included. But it's entirely subjective on a case-by-case basis and I'm willing to admit that some people might base their opinions, in part, on that aspect over Tebow. But I think the majority of public opinion surround the two performance-based schools of thought outlined earlier, magnified by the market he's in, the circumstances surrounding his usage and how offenses have to be designed around what the majority of the league believes are his strengths and only ways to consistently succeed. Because of that, he's an anomaly. Anomalies make for good stories/attention.