LITTLE ROCK — They are waiting on Tim Tebow.
Not just the New England Patriots, who Tebow and the Denver Broncos face this afternoon.
There are those waiting on Tebow to stumble, whether it be losing a football game, uttering a wrong word or any other slip. His enemies, the enemy, is out there wanting to scream God doesn’t care about football, that he has more important things on his mind.
Which may be true, but the fact Tebow takes a knee and thanks God for his success, now known as Tebowing, is his personal right, and if he makes evangelizing a cool thing, he’s succeeded.
Maybe fans of teams in the SEC understand, or are more understanding, of Tebow since they saw firsthand his conviction.
He used to wear scripture on his eye black during games - now that’s against the rules - which always resulted in huge numbers Googling the verse.
He won games, too. Two BCS championships and Heisman Trophy, all the while giving all the credit to God.
In SEC country, that became accepted.
Now, in the NFL, just weeks after almost being cut by the Broncos, he’s 7-1 as a starter. Yes, some of those victories were improbable, but they were not impossible, and every time Tebow has pointed to heaven and given thanks.
He’s not the first professional athlete to do so. NFL defensive standout Tommie Harris is an ordained minister. Our man Keith Jackson always knelt in the end zone and said a prayer of thanks after touchdowns. There have been hundreds of others.
Tebow, though, seems to have taken it to a new level. A national television level.
His winning streak has ESPN doing specials on him.
He has advertisers lining up for his endorsement, holy or not.
Yet, the headline in the front of the sports section of the Honolulu Star Advertiser said: Even some Christians wonder if this much Tebow is a good thing.
The story was written by a reporter from the Sacramento Bee.
Tebow, the son of missionaries, spent summers and spring breaks working with his dad in the Philippines. He does more than walk the walk and talk the talk. Tebow lives the life.
He is a living testimony of his faith.
There are those waiting on him to be anything but perfect, something he professes not to be every time he drops to a knee or points to heaven.
That’s him giving credit for his success to his God. His father in heaven. Hallowed be His name. Ask him what he wants, and he’d probably say prayers first.
All over the country, maybe the world, there are young married women hoping to give birth to the next Tim Tebow because he’s a good person. Maybe not a great football player, but a great role model.
On the opposite side of the front page of the Honolulu paper was a story of Barry Bonds getting two years probation for obstruction of justice. Farther back was news that Kobe Bryant is getting divorced.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Would you rather your son or daughter look up to Tebow or some athlete who is a deadbeat dad, a drug addict, or someone who was charged with DWI or, heaven forbid,involved in the Penn State or Syracuse allegations?
Today, the Patriots will come after Tebow hard and fast. They want to knock him out of the game more than off his religious throne.
Others, though, are out there, waiting on him to be human. Something he already proves every day.
Instead of using the words we hear so often in sports - me, I or myself - we see a young man thanking God for giving him the opportunity to play and to share his belief, one of the fundamental freedoms this country was founded on.
Sports, Pages 23 on 12/18/2011