Sports and religion have long been connected. As a kid I remember being told about the religious convictions of Eric Liddell who, at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics, withdrew from the 100m race, his best event, because the race was to be held on a Sunday.
When I first heard of Eric Liddell I was somewhat confused. Plenty of professional Christian athletes play sports on a Sunday and even more Christian fans pay to watch them do it. Why would Liddell be so firm about something that was not core to the Christian faith? And wouldn’t he serve as a better Christian witness if he won a gold medal but gave God the glory?
When I first heard of Eric Liddell I was somewhat confused. Plenty of professional Christian athletes play sports on a Sunday and even more Christian fans pay to watch them do it. Why would Liddell be so firm about something that was not core to the Christian faith? And wouldn’t he serve as a better Christian witness if he won a gold medal but gave God the glory?
This is part of the reason why I think Christians and non-Christians alike are fascinated by Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Tebow is a vulnerable yet strong individual who appears to be undeterred by the circus he lives in. No matter how many times people dog him for “Tebowing” (praying on one knee with head bowed) during games or giving praise to Jesus after games, there is something powerful in knowing that he will continue to do it day in and day out.
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As you may know, Liddell changed events and won gold in the 400m race and as a result inspired the great 1981 Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. Would the film still have been made if Liddell chose to race on a Sunday and won gold in 100m? Probably not. Eric Liddell would not be unique if he did what everyone else did and no one would go to watch a movie about an athletic but wholly un-unique Christian. We are fascinated by and watch movies about people like Eric Liddell because they walk where few are willing to walk and sacrifice what few are willing to sacrifice. Ultimately, I think we love people like Eric Liddell because they do what we wish we had the strength to do.
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It is easy for people to question the genuineness and sincerity of his words when he sounds like a cookie-cutter Evangelical American Christian (which he is) who just wants people to be saved by Jesus (which he does). People are skeptical, as they should be. But what makes Tebow unique is that he is proving his skeptics wrong – over and over again.
His skeptics thought he would never prove to be a viable NFL quarterback. Although the jury is still out, Tebow led the Denver Broncos to the AFC West division title and a dramatic overtime playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers – where Tebow set a new Twitter record and pulled in the most television viewers (42 million) to watch a wild card game in 24 years – before falling to (my) New England Patriots in the 2nd round playoff games.
As a result, the question for many observers has become, why is an unconventional quarterback like Tebow able to win football games? According to a recent national poll in America, 43 percent of the people surveyed believe divine intervention is a factor in Tebow’s ability to win football games. Although Tebow has said many times that football is just a game and God doesn’t care who wins or loses, people still need something beyond the ordinary to explain his unprecedented impact and rise in American folklore.
Now, before you scoff at the possibility of divine intervention for sporting outcomes, remember that when Eric Liddell went to the starting blocks for his Olympic 400m final as a modest underdog, an American team masseur slipped Liddell a piece of paper with 1 Samuel 2:30: “Those who honor me I will honor.” Liddell went on to break the existing Olympic and world records for 400m and his time stood as the European record for 12 years. Few would argue that Liddell wasn’t honored for his decision to forgo the 100m dash, so why couldn’t Tebow be honored in the same way?
In addition, Tebow’s skeptics find it hard to believe his sincerity when he begins every postgame press conference with “First, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and ends with “God bless.” New York Times writer Frank Bruni has said that Tebow’s persona often feels like a “self-righteous bait-and-switch – you come for scrimmages and he subjects you to scriptures.” But Tebow has another post-game press conference that speaks powerfully to his sincerity. In a post-game press conference after an impressive win against Minnesota in week 13, Tebow was asked to name something memorable from the week, and he responded by talking about the time he spent with a young leukemia patient from Florida who had just been transferred to hospice care.
His skeptics thought he would never prove to be a viable NFL quarterback. Although the jury is still out, Tebow led the Denver Broncos to the AFC West division title and a dramatic overtime playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers – where Tebow set a new Twitter record and pulled in the most television viewers (42 million) to watch a wild card game in 24 years – before falling to (my) New England Patriots in the 2nd round playoff games.
As a result, the question for many observers has become, why is an unconventional quarterback like Tebow able to win football games? According to a recent national poll in America, 43 percent of the people surveyed believe divine intervention is a factor in Tebow’s ability to win football games. Although Tebow has said many times that football is just a game and God doesn’t care who wins or loses, people still need something beyond the ordinary to explain his unprecedented impact and rise in American folklore.
Now, before you scoff at the possibility of divine intervention for sporting outcomes, remember that when Eric Liddell went to the starting blocks for his Olympic 400m final as a modest underdog, an American team masseur slipped Liddell a piece of paper with 1 Samuel 2:30: “Those who honor me I will honor.” Liddell went on to break the existing Olympic and world records for 400m and his time stood as the European record for 12 years. Few would argue that Liddell wasn’t honored for his decision to forgo the 100m dash, so why couldn’t Tebow be honored in the same way?
In addition, Tebow’s skeptics find it hard to believe his sincerity when he begins every postgame press conference with “First, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and ends with “God bless.” New York Times writer Frank Bruni has said that Tebow’s persona often feels like a “self-righteous bait-and-switch – you come for scrimmages and he subjects you to scriptures.” But Tebow has another post-game press conference that speaks powerfully to his sincerity. In a post-game press conference after an impressive win against Minnesota in week 13, Tebow was asked to name something memorable from the week, and he responded by talking about the time he spent with a young leukemia patient from Florida who had just been transferred to hospice care.
After getting crushed in a season ending loss to the Patriots, Tebow told the press he had a great day because he made Zack McLeod smile. Zack suffered a brain injury playing football in 2008 and Tebow hosted him at the game and spent time with him and his family before and after the game.
In talking about the loss Tebow said, “It’s still a positive day and still a good day. I choose to look through those lenses. Whenever you can make a kid’s day, that’s more important than a football game.” Slowly but surely, skeptics are turning into believers as the stories of Tebow’s selflessness continues to pile up.
Tim Tebow, like Eric Liddell, represents somebody that we wish we had the strength to be. We want to walk where few are willing to walk and sacrifice what few are willing to sacrifice. But we don’t. The truly sad part is that Tebow’s perspective is not unique, it is Christian, and by holding a truly Christian perspective, Tebow has become unique. Do I like or agree with everything Tebow says? No. But is Tebow somebody that I wish I were more like? Without a doubt.
In talking about the loss Tebow said, “It’s still a positive day and still a good day. I choose to look through those lenses. Whenever you can make a kid’s day, that’s more important than a football game.” Slowly but surely, skeptics are turning into believers as the stories of Tebow’s selflessness continues to pile up.
Tim Tebow, like Eric Liddell, represents somebody that we wish we had the strength to be. We want to walk where few are willing to walk and sacrifice what few are willing to sacrifice. But we don’t. The truly sad part is that Tebow’s perspective is not unique, it is Christian, and by holding a truly Christian perspective, Tebow has become unique. Do I like or agree with everything Tebow says? No. But is Tebow somebody that I wish I were more like? Without a doubt.