The curious hatred of Tim Tebow

Daniel Foster

NationalReview.com

Why does Tim Tebow irritate so many people? asked Daniel Foster. Fans, sportswriters, and other players openly mock the Denver Broncos’ quarterback for his outspoken expressions of evangelical Christian faith, which include a gesture now universally called “Tebowing”—sinking to one knee to pray, with his head bowed. After sacking Tebow, a Detroit Lions linebacker even “Tebowed” on the field, to show his disdain.

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What galls his critics, it seems, is that a pro athlete could be more earnest than a Boy Scout; “there isn’t an ironic bone in Tim Tebow’s body.” In an era in which other jocks father scores of illegitimate children, Tebow has publicly professed to be a virgin. When teammates go out to celebrate a win in bars and strip clubs, he goes home after a win to prepare for the next game. While other players squander their huge salaries on cars, mansions, and bling, Tebow selflessly devotes his spare time to missionary work in Thailand, and spreading The Word in schools, churches, and prisons.

For worldly cynics, it’s not just Tebow’s “God talk” that is so annoying. What truly galls them is that “he might actually believe it.”