God, this Tebow is some kind of amazing
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In America, there is no separation between church and state when it comes to football. Expressions of Christian religiosity and the gridiron are as intertwined in our national imagination as peanut butter and jelly.
On any given Sunday, a huge percentage of the 78.4 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christians think nothing of violating the Sabbath to cheer their favorite teams either in person or in front of that notorious idol-maker called television.
And even if these Christians made it to church earlier in the day, the playful merging of their spiritual identities with their anxieties as sports fans concerned about that day's game was most likely on display somewhere in the sanctuary.
Game days at my own church are no exception. There are so many Steelers jerseys in the pews in the hours before kickoff that a visitor could easily mistake the line for communion with the line for beer during halftime at Heinz Field.
It could be that Christianity's roots as a persecuted sect that once provided sport to the lions and gladiators in the Roman Colosseum account for some of the affinity between American believers and football. Could a need to cheer our representatives in an arena context be both a bizarre reversal of and a perverse acting out of what was once the order of things?
That's why the whole debate swirling around Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and his very public expressions of faith are so fascinating. Despite his modest prowess as a National Football League quarterback, Mr. Tebow has managed to lead the Broncos to the most unlikely come-from-behind victories imaginable.
He usually begins his post-game interviews with the same mantra: "First, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." To his credit, Mr. Tebow has never specifically attributed his victories to Jesus, although lots of folks who watch him play three lousy quarters, only to rise to the challenge in the fourth to win, are less circumspect. They don't call him the "Mile-High Messiah" for nothing.
There's a lot of superstition swirling around Mr. Tebow these days, thanks to his 7-1 record as a starter. Although he has yet to impress the sports punditocracy with consistently brilliant play like the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers, the Broncos are still sitting atop the American Football Conference West Division. If that isn't a "miracle," as loosely defined by his fans, it will have to suffice until Mr. Tebow plays in the Super Bowl.
Controversy around Mr. Tebow is nothing new. The Heisman Trophy winner alienated a lot of college football fans with his outspoken religiosity even as he helped the University of Florida win two national championships. His commitment to living what many consider a narrowly virtuous life was as baffling then as it is now.
Meanwhile, there are sports fans who are convinced that whenever Mr. Tebow plays, God isn't interested in hearing the prayers of the New York Jets, Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers or any other opponent. But the belief that God has a special fondness for the Broncos is about to be severely tested at Mile High Stadium.
On Sunday, the New England Patriots are likely to restore a sense of normality to the universe by pulverizing the Broncos and dispelling any suspicion that God plays favorites with explicitly Christian quarterbacks in the NFL.
This is not to say that quarterback Tom Brady represents the forces of rationality or that the Patriots are a bastion of secularism. Mr. Brady may be as enthusiastic a Christian as Mr. Tebow, for all we know, but he doesn't shout it from the rooftops.
If anything, Mr. Brady's actions as a seasoned, multiple Super Bowl-winning quarterback reveal him to be a relentless competitor who is never content to leave the field until the opposing team's spirit is broken. He's a great villain for fans of franchises across the NFL to root against because he leads a machine that will run up the score when possible. That's why the Broncos and the Patriots aren't likely to have a close game going into the fourth quarter.
Still, I'm pulling for Mr. Tebow and the Broncos against the Patriots despite the odds. It isn't because of tribal loyalty to a fellow Christian. I simply can't root for the Patriots, a nemesis of the Steelers, under any circumstances.
Many of my militantly atheist friends are rooting for Mr. Brady because they see Sunday's game as a proxy war against obnoxious theism. I suppose I understand where they're coming from, but I enjoy the way Mr. Tebow challenges our glib assumptions about the world by winning games he really shouldn't.
There's more to heaven and earth than winning football games, anyway.
First Published December 16, 2011 12:00 am
