The curious case of Tim Tebow

There's a guy I've been friends with for probably close to 30 years in spite of the fact that we're about as politically different as two people can be. He's an extremely conservative Christian, and I'm ... well, I'm not. It has made for some lengthy discussions over our disagreements on the Facebook machine.

But I felt less argumentative and more intrigued the other day when he posted the following about Tim Tebow backing out of an appearance at First Baptist Church in Dallas.
  

"What do you think? Should Tebow have backed out of this event?"

For those unaware, the First Baptist pastor, the Rev. Robert Jeffress, "has taken polarizing social stances, fanning flames of controversy in exactly the kind of way that the NFL works tirelessly to avoid."

"In a 2011 interview, for instance, Jeffress declared that Islam and Mormonism were religions that are 'heresy from the pit of hell,' took a hard line against Judaism, and claims that America is being 'brainwashed' into accepting a homosexual agenda." 

"Also in 2011, he criticized the Catholic church as 'the genius of Satan' and 'corrupted' by cults. Say what you will about Ray Lewis, but his public displays of religion were inclusive and inspirational, not exclusive (well, except for the ones that excluded everyone who wasn't Ray Lewis)."

As someone who doesn't care what religion you belong to, or none at all, as long as you're not hurting anybody; supports gay rights and is married to a Catholic (although Mrs. Last Honest would probably be the first to tell you she's not a particularly good Catholic), I don't like Jeffress' worldview. I think it's safe to say he wouldn't like mine, either. So be it.

But back to Tebow, my friend didn't offer an opinion about the First Baptist event, and I'm not going to either. However, it did get me to thinking about Tebow's place in American sports culture, the likes of which I'm not sure we've ever seen.

Of course, the possibility exists that whatever Tebow's beliefs on other religions, gay rights, abortion or any other social issues, his Christianity has other priorities. His messages on Twitter announcing he was cancelling his appearance (the quote below is from the article about him backing out linked above) could perhaps hint at that.

"While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my upcoming appearance. I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!"

Yet there is another possibility, which to me is where things get interesting.

Tim Tebow is extremely popular and extremely polarizing. How popular? If you believe Deadspin, the dude caused ESPN to change the way it covers sports. That's some serious stroke, folks.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, with the possible exception of the areas in and around Gainesville, Fla., a lot of that appeal is due to his open and overt Christianity. Now that I'm on that limb, I'm going to wander out onto a branch and say that the people who love him for his Christianity are probably conservative.

He's one of them, except for one little thing. While I don't have any illusions -- let's just say I don't envision him doing any events with Chris Kluwe or Brendon Ayanbadejo any time soon -- Tebow has pretty much stayed out of politics. Even the content from Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad from a couple years ago that caused so much controversy before that game wound up being a whole lot of no big deal.


So what that leads to is Tebow being a pretty polarizing athlete, but for two reasons that aren't necessarily polar opposites. Yes, some people find his public expressions of faith off-putting, but the dislike for that pales in intensity to that of the people who love him for it, and the backlash that does exist is probably as much about him not being a good NFL quarterback and all the attention he gets in spite of that.

Yet however much he may turn some people off, particularly those on the left, I don't think there are too many people who hate him, which means he's safe to do endorsements. (I actually think this TiVo ad is pretty good. I'm OK with people who can laugh at themselves.)


The only way I can see this sort-of-uneasy truce between what people are pretty sure he is and not holding it against him is him becoming what he hasn't shown to be yet ... someone who would call Islam and Judaism "heresy from the pit of hell," say America is being "brainwashed" into accepting a homosexual agenda or other such stuff ... or at least someone who would publicly associate with a pastor who feels that way.

That could give his critics as much reason to despise him as much as his fans love him, because then, it's personal.

Now, let me say again that it is entirely possible that Tebow is not interested in espousing his Christianity the same way Jeffress does. Absent any evidence to the contrary, he is due the benefit of that much doubt from the people who are offended by Jeffress' beliefs.

However, the story of the cancelled First Baptist Church appearance does show that if Tebow and his advisers are interested in maintaining his commercial viability, he walks perhaps a tighter rope than Michael "Republicans buy sneakers, too" Jordan ever did.

Perhaps the worst kind of sports fan

"I can't believe they still boo Chara."

This was from one of my co-workers Thursday, the day after the Boston Bruins played the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, where the fans apparently treated Zdeno Chara with the minimum high regard that they always do.

Without even getting into the fact that Chara is the captain of the Canadiens' hated rivals, I did remind her there was an incident a couple years back that might have colored fans' views of him.



Let us not forget that there was talk of prosecuting Chara for that hit.

My co-worker, her memory refreshed of Chara running Max Pacioretty head-first into a pole, could only reply with, "He didn't do it on purpose. They should just get over it!"

I don't think he did it on purpose, either, and told her so, but saying Montreal fans should "get over it" defies all logic.

The conversation caused me to think that my co-worker may be the worst kind of sports fan ... the one whose passion (and to be clear, she is a serious, serious Bruins fan) makes them not just a hypocrite (as all fans are), but blinds them to all logic so much that a rational conversation can be nearly impossible.

My advice for Gus Johnson

Gus ... Gus ... Gus ... GUS!!!!

Sorry, didn't mean to yell there. I just wasn't sure you could hear me over whatever it was you were talking about.

I must confess, I was not thrilled to hear that you were being groomed to Fox's lead announcer for the 2018 World Cup. I might have even said something on the Twitter machine about it being the latest in Fox's seemingly never-ending efforts to screw up every sport there is. For one thing, if I ever find the guy with the robot fetish ...

You see, Gus, to be honest, I'm not a fan. What used to be endearing enthusiasm has turned into what I call Garces/Brown Syndrome. Since I doubt you've been following this blog since its inception, it's when a person becomes so defined by a particular characteristic (in your case, getting somewhat excited over things) that it consumes them.

Simply put, you've become shtick. And it annoys me greatly.

However, if you're going to do the gig, you might as well do it as well as you can. In that spirit, I would like to offer you a few friendly bits of advice.

1. Learn the game

I've been following soccer a little more than casually for the past few years. It's actually kind of exciting, getting to know more about a sport that I didn't grow up with and really had no knowledge base about. I'm getting better, but if I got plopped in a broadcast booth, I would drown in a deep pool of flop sweat and suck.

So I can appreciate your learning curve, and it's encouraging to see that you understand it, starting with calling yourself a "novice."

I'm also heartened that it looks like you're doing the work, calling MLS games on the radio, taking a trip to Europe to see games and meet with people and even playing pickup soccer games.

All very good. May I also suggest reading anything you can find from Jonathan Wilson? Sure, 90 percent of it will go over your head, especially when he gets deep in the weeds on tactics. but the 10 percent that sticks will be valuable.

2. Seriously, about the yelling

Listening to you cover a football game is like the announcing version of the running back who gets all puffy-chested and James Dean-like (h/t former co-worker Ray) for picking up four yards on 3rd-and-3 or the linebacker who does a little dance when he stops a runner for a six-yard gain. There's a lot of excitement that doesn't need to happen.

The thing about soccer is that you'll get your moments to be the Gus Johnson that so many people know and love. They just tend to sometimes be few and far between, and they can come out of nowhere.

And the moments don't even have to be goals. There are a lot of exciting moments where the ball doesn't go into the net. My favorites are the shots that appear out of the blue by ROO-NEY! or DROG-BA!

When someone actually scores, especially if it's spectacular, by all means, let it go. I can envision your goal calls being almost as famous as Ray Hudson's, albeit for the volume and not necessarily the flights of whimsy with the English language.



But I beg of you, just pick your spots. (While you're at it, apply that to the rest of your stuff, too.)

3. Tell us how you really feel

You're an American announcer, which means you belong to the school of no players or coaches ever doing something wrong or not being good at what they do unless there's some sort of extenuating circumstance like a bum knee or a sleepless night before the game due to nightmares of an announcer yelling in his ear all night.

But while you're watching English games on Fox Soccer Channel all weekend (which I'm sure you're doing), take note how honest the announcers are. They're all quite skilled at noting how many golden scoring chances Liverpool blows -- lots of opportunities for practice -- and if a player messes up, they say so. If a coach makes a boneheaded move, they say so. I'm pretty sure I've heard them say a team has flat-out quit.

You also should learn the closest thing they have to a euphemism ... "That was optimistic," for a shot that should have never been taken and wasn't going in unless the net was in Row ZZ.

Now I understand that you may not be comfortable with such bluntness, especially if you're not sure your opinions are warranted. If that's the case, then just don't stop your partner from doing it. It may seem weird at first, but it's OK.

Good luck.

The NHL's labor woes, explained

Stu Hackel wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated's website on Gary Bettman's 20 years as NHL commissioner, the gist of which seemed to be that there are some things he has done well and other things he hasn't done so well.

But there was one passage that jumped out at me.

It's in labor relations that Bettman's best and worst qualities come to the fore. He was primarily hired, after all, to bring an NBA-type salary cap to the NHL and to represent the owners in their dealings with the players, the league having lost the cozy relationship it previously enjoyed with the NHLPA during Alan Eagleson's tenure.

That's one way of putting it. Another way is to say that certain owners, such as the guy who is considered by some to have led the owners during the lockout, miss the days when Eagleson repeatedly, and criminally, sold out his players.

Is there any wonder why the owners can't stand a union leader who actually battles with them?