Howard Kurtz, host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, posed a question I’ve been asking for weeks now: Are people fascinated by Tim Tebow for his athleticism or his faith?
Kurtz and his CNN producers then invite two sports journalists, seemingly non-believers, on to the stage: The XM Radio host and author Dave Zirin and CBSSportsline.com columnist Gregg Doyel.
When asked by Kurtz how much is of the Tebow attention is about sports and how much is about faith, Doyel said:
“It’s a weird combination of both. We’ve never seen anything like this before. You couldn’t have one without the other.”
Zirin raised the question about Tebow’s appearance in a commercial for Focus on the Family, which aired during last year’s Super Bowl. Truth is, Tebow participated in the ad, he didn’t buy ad space during the game. That was a business decision between Focus of the Family and the NFL. To bring Tebow into the discussion is a media-driven effort to create controversy.
“People tend to be scared of or, at least, don’t like things they don’t understand,” said Doyel.
Doyel said he enjoyed watching Tebow, but doesn’t listening to him, calling the Broncos quarterback actions “politics,” which screams of hypocrisy. What Tebow does – both on and off the field – is a reflection of who he is as a human being. He is a follower of Jesus Christ.
Doyel and Zirim are victims of their own words. He simply does not understand the Christian faith, nor has he taken the time to ask or investigate what motivates Tebow to pray before, during and after games. I would think, as journalists, both Zirin and Doyel would at least attempt to understand the subject before writing their opinions about.
