I originally posted this on October 26, 2011. It’ received a lot of attention from Muslim activists…
On my radio program we got into a discussion regarding Denver Bronco quarterback, Tim Tebow. Specifically we were talking about his come-from-behind effort on Sunday, during the last four minutes of the fourth quarter, to tie, and then beat in overtime, the Miami Dolphins, 18-15.
It was Tebow’s first start in the NFL, and the first three quarters were pretty rough. Going into the final quarter, with the Broncos in danger of being shut out for the first time since 1992, Tebow was 3-for-8 for 24 yards. He had been sacked four times.
But then in those last four minutes, with the Dolphins up by 15, Tebow made it happen. He connected on his passes, and even ran into the end zone for the first comeback touchdown. He was awesome.
Yet, even after the dramatic overtime victory, commentators on virtually every outlet were ripping him for an el-sucko performance prior to the last portion of the game. And they refused to let go of it.
One of the more gracious commentaries came from the New York Daily News: “In his first game since being named the Bronco’s quarterback, Tebow was horrendous for three quarters, spectacular for one. He didn’t play well. He just won.”
Hey, idiots in the media: the only thing that matters in sports is the score when the clock runs out. Seems to me that Tebow faced adversity head on, and smacked it down. Sounds like a good day at the office to me.
So, why does the media refuse to give Tim Tebow a break?
It’s because he’s a Christian–and an outspoken one at that. My gosh, during the 2010 Superbowl he was in a pro-life commercial for Focus on the Family–the media hated it, because they hate Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson (“He’s a homophobe,” they say).
Put a mic in Tebow’s face and you’ll get an “I give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” everytime.
And the media hates that too.
But how about if Tebow were a Muslim? How would the media have reacted to his victory on Sunday?
With over the top praise and adoration. I can hear it now: “The Sultan of Sling, Timmy Tebow, with a courageous come from behind win!”
In the post game interview they would ask “the Mighty Muslim” how his faith helped him overcome a tough situation. He would give glory to Allah. Cameras would be following him to his prayer mat on Monday, showing how Islam was a part of his training regimen.
If Tebow were a Muslim the media would glorify him, because they want to make you believe that Islam is the religion of peace, as opposed to the religion that drove eleven men into blowing up 3,000 Americans into pieces.
Even if he someday wins the Superbowl, the media will always have an ax to grind with Tim Tebow, which is why many of us (even those of us who are not Bronco fans) wish him success.
This article just sickens me because it is so darn true. I’d almost think Brian had access to some kind of ‘script.’ It is so accurate! I can see Tim Tebow, as a muslim, on Oprah. What a show! Won’t get on as a Christian, heck, won’t even get on as a Buddist. Islam is peaceful…right? I so agree with the holy guy who ordered that girl whipped to death because she had the audasity (probably spelled incorrectly) to be forcefully bound and raped by her uncle. Oh! Let me praise the peaceful religion. Where can I sign up? Oh! Just walk through that gate with the sigal that says “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” and put your blood on the knotted rope…oops…signature on the dotted line. In the country I use to live in called The UNITED STATES of America, that holy man would have gotten an unscheduled midnight call to be schooled in “…instruction in righteousness.” Go Tim!
I disagree with this article on so many levels. First of all, Tebow is NOT a good quarterback, at least not right now. He has not played well in his last couple of games, and was especially awful against the Lions last week. You say the only thing that matters at the end of the game is the score. That’s true for deciding what team is better, but to decide if Tebow is a good quarterback, you have to look at his stats, which have been bad. Football is a team game, and to win takes a team effort. You can’t just say that Tebow is good because he plays for the Broncos, and the Broncos won. In that case, why isn’t the defense given credit for the win? They played well, while Tebow was average at best. Also, it was not Tebow’s first NFL start. He started at least three games last year.
Second, the media doesn’t hate Tim Tebow at all. In fact, the media loves Tebow. The media coverage of Tebow, considering how bad of a quarterback he is, is unbelievable. I have heard more about Tim Tebow in the last two or three weeks than any other sports figure. He was the number one story in the game against the Lions, even though he was maybe the worst player performance-wise in that game. The commentators could not stop talking about him.
Third, you say that the media hate Tebow because he is Christian, and if Tebow was Muslim, they would love him. That is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. As I said, the media can’t get enough of Tim Tebow. You seem to think there is an anti-Christian bias in the media. I don’t see that, but I do see that there is an incredible amount of hatred for Islam in the media, especially after 9/11. I live in the city with the largest concentration of Muslims in the country, so I know how difficult it is for Muslims in this country.
If Tebow was a Muslim, and was very vocal about it, as he is with Christianity, his treatment and the public opinion of him would probably be worse. If he did one of his afternoon prayers during a game, or thanked Allah for his victories, people like yourself would hate his guts. He would be constantly called un-American, and he’d be accused of being a terrorist.
Tebow would not be glorified any more if he was a Muslim. The media simply judges him as a player, and he is being judged somewhat harshly because his performance has been very bad. That wouldn’t change if he was a Muslim. He probably wouldn’t get as much attention as he does now, but the attention he would get wouldn’t be positive, simply because his performance has been bad.
On top of all this, he probably wouldn’t even be a starter right now if he was Muslim. The main reason he became the starter over Kyle Orton is because there was a lot of pressure on the Broncos from fans and the media to make Tebow the starter. If he was Muslim, there wouldn’t be a lot of fan support for Tebow, so he probably wouldn’t even be playing right now. He’d most likely be the backup or even third-string quarterback.
Lastly, you seem to think that Islam is an evil religion, while Christianity is some kind of peaceful religion. Your reasoning is that the people responsible for the 9/11 attacks were Muslims. That’s true, but those people are not representative of all Muslims. The people responsible for the Holocaust were Christians, but they don’t represent all Christians. Honestly, Christianity is just as violent, if not more violent, than Islam. For example, read Exodus 22:17 NAB, Leviticus 20:13 NAB, Leviticus 20:27 NAB, Exodus 21:15 NAB, Leviticus 20:9 NLT, Leviticus 20:10 NLT, Leviticus 21:9 NAB, Exodus 22:19 NAB, 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB, Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT, Deuteronomy 22:20-21 NAB, Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB and Exodus 31:12-15 NLT.
I hope you take the time to read this comment, and I look forward to hearing any responses.
I won’t argue with you about Tebow’s chances of making it in the NFL, but I will argue with you regarding the media’s pathetic ass-kissing of Islam.
Have a nice day.
Brian
You are just stupid and ignorant. Islam is actually the most peaceful religion, yeah their are terrorist. But there also Christine terrorist. IRA, Hitler, KKK,etc. This article proves that you are not educated at all.
Looks like I touched a nerve. Good. I did my job.
By the way, the pen is more powerful than the sword. Too bad the Muslims in places like Saudi Arabia can’t figure that one out.
Peacefully yours,
Brian
@Andrew, you have all this backward. First of all, the media hates T, look at all the coverage, it’s all negatively slanted, almost mockingly so. Look at Herman Cain, it’s 24 7 coverage lately, all insinuating and negative, almost like guilty untill proven innocent, they hate this guy, just like T. Open your eyes A, just because they cover these two a lot, doesn’t mean they love them, jeez. Secondly, your Muslim assertation is backwards as well. Have you seen the trailor for the new “muslim in America” reality show? Fact is, the press has been in PC overdrive to make Muslims acceptable,popular, and even hip. 9-11 has been the best thing to happen to Muslims in America. Before that, they weren’t even on the map, you never saw women in full coverings walking down the street, I think their masters, men, kept them indoors for some reason. Get with the program A, Muslim good, Christian bad, Ahmadinijad good, GW. Bush bad, Sports stars with ten children from ten hoes good, Tebow bad, OWS vandalous mobs good, peaceful Tea Party types bad. Educate yourself, then get back on board.
While I think Tebow is not a very good QB, lets compare him to Michael Vick. Vick i a convicted felon that the sports media drools over. He killed & abused dogs in horrible ways. He too is a running QB who was not a very good passing qb, but that part of his game has improved. This is a punk, who I believe is only sorry that he got caught, but yet the guys on The NFL Network & ESPN can’t talk about him & how great he is enough. I use to be involved in Pit Bull rescue with a friend of mine. I can tell you that some of the things I have seen that people have done to these dogs would sicken you. This guy is a phsyco, yet he is treated like some kind of hero in the sports media. Disgusting.
I thought you were going to argue with me about “the media’s pathetic ass-kissing of Islam.” Go ahead, Brian.
Darren: They say any attention is good attention, but obviously that’s not true, because blasting somebody is not good attention. Having said that, I don’t see much negative stuff about Tebow in the media, aside from just people criticizing his play when it was bad. Here are some articles about Tebow that are not “negatively slanted,” some of which are slanted in his favor. Then you can give me some examples of articles that are negatively slanted (not articles that say he played badly when he did, in fact, play badly). Also, don’t give me stuff from blogs or things like that. I want actual media members.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1158168/index.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/tim-tebow-struggles-broncos-lions-nfl_n_1066537.html
http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2011/11/04/bill-romanowski-on-tim-tebow-hes-he%E2%80%99s-the-only-virgin-in-the-nfl-you-can%E2%80%99t-hate-the-guy/
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Tim-Tebow-why-the-heck-do-we-hate-him-110211
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Denver-Broncos-defeat-Oakland-Raiders-110611
@Joe, The sports media “drools over” Michael Vick when he is playing well, such as last year. They don’t talk about Michael Vick as a person, but Michael Vick as a football player. As a football player, Michael Vick is good. Tim Tebow is not. As a person, Michael Vick obviously made some bad choices in his past life. When those came out to the public, the media criticized the hell out of Vick (which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, considering that thousands of cows, pigs and chickens are slaughtered every day in this country and everyone’s fine with that).
You say you think Vick is “only sorry that he got caught.” That’s possible, but there is absolutely no evidence of that. He hasn’t been accused of a similar offense, or even of breaking the law in any way. He’s served his time in prison, said all the right things, made appearances at schools and charity events (voluntarily, as far as I know), and even lobbied for an anti-dog-fighting bill recently. So yeah, he could only be sorry that he got caught, but it seems like he is truly sorry for the things he did and helped other people do, and is changing his life (although he probably still supports a meat-production industry that is responsible for slaughtering millions of animals). He doesn’t seem like a psycho at all to me, just a normal guy who made mistakes when he was young and rich.
Also, what you saw rescuing pit bulls doesn’t seem to have any relevance to Michael Vick’s case. The fact that some people, wherever you were, did certain things to dogs has nothing to do with Michael Vick. I’m sure Vick and the people he was involved with did some awful things to the dogs, but as I said, he went to prison and seems to have reformed. Football commentators are supposed to comment on football. It isn’t their job to comment on something Michael Vick did about five years ago. It is their job to comment on how he plays on the football field, and his performance has been pretty good lately, so obviously they’re going to say that he’s a good player.
Andrew, First, my involvment in Pit Bull rescue has no relevance to Vick’s case? Vick did to these dogs exactly what I worked to prevent. He tourtured & killed dogs. What do you think “rescue” means? We took in dogs & brought them back to health after they had been abused in the same way. To your other point. Even though Vick is having a down year, the sports media still kisses his rear end. I am a big football fan & watch a lot of the shows. You are the type of person more concerned about the rights & well being of the bad guys than you are the victims. It is a fact that radical Islam is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, including other muslims. You say Christians are just as bad. Please point out when a Christian flew planes into buildings, blew up a bus with children on it, blew up a wedding or resturant. Please don’t point to that piece of garbage Tim Mcvay. One attack, & one attack too many, compared to hundreds. And lets stick to moderen day, not thousands of years ago.
…So? You said, “I can tell you that some of the things I have seen that people have done to these dogs would sicken you,” and you used that as your reasoning for calling Vick a “psycho.” That makes no sense, unless you rescued some dogs from Michael Vick’s house. It doesn’t really have any relevance to Vick’s case. That’s all I was saying.
My exact quote was, “Christianity is just as violent, if not more violent, than Islam.” Just for the record so you don’t get any wrong ideas here. I don’t understand why I can’t point to Tim McVeigh, but ok, i’ll give you some examples of Christian terrorism, and I won’t include all the stuff Christianity is responsible for before the last 100 years, although I don’t see why we shouldn’t include those things either.
1. Ku Klux Klan
A Christian organization responsible for probably hundreds of terrorist acts against minorities.
2. Nazis
Nazis were Christian. Hitler almost became a priest. Nazis were responsible for the Holocaust.
3. The IRA and the “Orange Volunteers” in Ireland, both Christian terrorist organizations.
4. The U.S.’s bombings and drone attacks in places like Japan, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. presidents responsible for these attacks (Bush, Obama, Truman) were Christians, and most of these attacks were done with the intention of and the knowledge that they would kill civilians. American firebombing in WWII of Tokyo alone killed 100,000 civilians, and reports indicate that American drone attacks intended to kill suspected terrorists have actually killed more civilians than suspected terrorists.
All religions have done something bad in the name of their god, but the problem with Islam is the fact that it is two sided. If they do not have the majority, like here in the US, they are a peaceful religion. If they are the ruling majority like in Iran, you have Shar’ia Law which is very violent to those who do not believe or those who step out of line. A former muslim from Iran who is now a Christian Pastor by the name of Shahram Hadian has spoken out about this very topic while running for Washington State Governor . Search his name and check out his story and find the rule truth on Islam, not the one we hear in the news.
http://www.hadian2012.com/
I like Tebow. GO TEBOW! Keep on thanking your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!!!