So it's been all over the news that Tim Tebow is going to do a 30 second ad with the theme, "Celebrate family, Celebrate Life," sponsored by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. While no one knows exactly what will be in the pro-life ad, many believe that it will feature Tebow and his mother.For everyone who doesn't know, Pam [his mother] got sick with amoebic dysentery in the Philippines while pregnant with Tim and the medicines she needed to recover can damage or kill a fetus. Even though doctors advised her to have an abortion, Pam decided to go against their advice and instead gave birth to Tim.
I have serious problems with this for many reasons:
Let's start with the insanely hypocritical network who are going to be airing this. CBS has a "non-controversial ad" policy. They have rejected ads from the United Church of Christ (a church that welcomes everyone, including gays), PETA, and moveon.org (a democratic organization) because they were "too controversial." Apparently CBS doesn't consider abortion a "controversial" topic. Silly me, what was I thinking. With 30 second ads selling for somewhere between $2.5 to $2.8 million, it's blatantly obvious that when it comes to CBS, money talks. By airing this ad,
This is a dumb move for Tebow. After news of the ad, Tebow said,
Look, we all get it Tim, you are religious. We all understood that a long time ago (the bible verses on your face every game gave it away). Most people who follow football also know his story. From those two things alone, it's pretty obvious what his stance on particular issues, especially abortion, would be. There is no problem with that, the problem here is that by doing this ad, Tebow is going one step further and essentially making himself the poster boy for pro-life; atleast that's what people are going to see him as. He already wasn't going to go super early in the draft, but this most definitely will not help. While it's great and all that he stands up for what he believes in, teams aren't going to want to have a player that is going to bring religion and politics into the locker room and create "a schism." (Jared Allen, it's still not an STD) Teams and their owners don't want to alienate fans by having a player who is so open about his particular beliefs. By doing a commercial that airs during the Super Bowl, it shows teams that you are quite happy to mix politics/religion and football. It also attracts negative attention to the team from groups who oppose what he stands for (example: PETA and Mike Vick)."I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe and that I'm never shy about it. I've always been very convicted of it because that's the reason I'm here, because my mom was a very courageous woman. So any way that I could help, I would do. I don't feel like I'm very preachy about it, but I do stand up for what I believe. "
Most importantly, the Super Bowl is NOT the correct place for such an ad. For a football fan, this is the most sacred day of the year. The day is for food, beer, friends, and FOOTBALL..not for religion or politics. On Super Bowl Sunday, no one cares about religion or politics. The only thing that divides people is what team they are rooting for. The commercials that should air during the Super Bowl are for advertisers, not for religious and political views. They are meant for Pepsi (who I am angry with for including a certain Super Bowl catch against a certain New England team in their latest ad), Bud Light, Budweiser, car companies, McDonalds, etc. They should be witty and entertaining and make people laugh, not incite a political/religious argument among everyone in the room. That's a great way to ruin the game for everyone!
I'm not going to say that religion is completely separate from football because it's obviously not, but there is a HUGE difference between praying before the game, thanking God after the game, and what Tebow is doing.
I respect Tebow's right to have the views he does and express them in his own way if he so chooses. However, the podium for such things should not be football's holiest of days. In the end, Tebow will do what he believes is right, I just hope he's ready for the repercussions that come with his decision.
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1 comments:
Tim Tebow is a solid role model for children which is hard to find in professional sports. The commercial was way over hyped and if my kids can watch beer after beer commercial with half naked girls I think that thirty seconds of Truth won't kill anybody. Its just plain sad that people are so disensitized to blatant immorality but are super sensitive and offended by morality and ethics. It is just actually plain ignorant and pathetic.
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