Guest commentary by Charles Schnur
Published Sunday, December 11, 2011, 12:42 PM
I admit – I am a Florida Gator. Regardless of my bias, Tim Tebow is incredible.
While I am too old to have experienced Tebow’s play first-hand during my time at the University of Florida, I still relished watching him post victories for my alma mater.
The phenomonenon of Tebow is nothing new to us Gators. I remember his freshman year (2006) as a backup quarterback, when fans were clamoring for his insertion whenever starting quarterback Chris Leak would show the slightest signs of weakness. This was despite the fact that Leak led the Gators to a 13-1 record and the National Championship.
Tebow won the Heisman Trophy his sophomore year and then, the following year, led the Gators to the 2008 National Championship. His decision to forgo the NFL draft and play his senior year (plus of course his incredible accomplishments) permanently enamored him to us Florida faithful.
On a typical Saturday fall afternoon, my Facebook feed generally contains plenty of Gator football references. (Unfortunately, this year those have been mostly negative.) In the last few weeks, the Tim Tebow Phenomenon has led to a legion of orange-and-blue-bleeding Florida Gators to become a legion of orange-and-(slightly-darker-shade-of-)blue-bleeding Denver Broncos fans. My Sunday Facebook feed is adequate-enough proof. Is there a player out there who has such a loyal following from his alma mater? Until this year, my interest in the National Football League basically involved a passing interest in watching Super Bowl ads. Now I find myself closely following the AFC West.
In addition to being a Gator, I am also an observant Jew. My own commitment to religion makes me view Tebow as clearly a winner (perhaps this began in the womb, when his mother was instructed to abort the fetus to save her own life), even though his very public and outward expressions of his Christian faith have clearly frustrated many.
I will opine that Tebow is the real deal. Perhaps as a society we have become so cynical to people of faith. Athletes', politicians' and wacky religious leaders' perhaps-insincere overmentioning of G-d and J.C. may well be such that we have trouble believing someone who actually means it. Even if/when he loses, Tebow still thanks G-d. (Of course if he were losing, he would not be in the news nearly as much.)
One of my (Jewish) former students was criticizing Tebow for his religious expression. I tried to tell him Tebow would thank G-d for anything. My student sarcastically replied that perhaps he should be thanking G-d for going to the bathroom. I subsequently referenced Asher yatzar, the prayer observant Jews say for being healthy enough to be able to "use the facilities."
I can understand how some may be upset about the "public display" issue; as Jews, we keep most of our prayer and mitzvot (commandments) in the synagogue or home. However, I do not doubt Tebow's sincerity whatsoever.
But are the Bronco victories miracles? Or, for that matter, does G-d care about the end result of a football game? I can’t answer the first question. The second one is perhaps best left to a more competent religious authority, but the simple answer is yes. G-d cares about a lot: what we eat, how we treat animals, what we say to a neighbor, and where we spend our money – these all matter. (We Jews think of ourselves as having more rules to follow than non-Jews do, but there certainly are lessons for all).
Why is Tim Tebow here, why has he been successful, and what does the future hold? Ask a theologian. In the meantime, I just hope that today he and the Broncos beats the Bears.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Charles Schnur of Philadelphia has undergraduate (2000) and graduate (2002) degrees from the University of Florida. He is looking for a single Jewish female with whom to watch Broncos and (usually on delay, due to Shabbas:) Gators games.
Comments