Friday, December 16, 2011
"Tebow and the Mystery of Victory"
My friend and colleague, Jeff Pojanowski, has a nice reflection over at Patheos about the Tim Tebow phenomenon. He concludes:
Hollywood and sports culture have little patience for losers and less of an eye for ordinary grace. If Tebow's winning streak or career does not end in triumph, any continued dignity, faith, and service on his part—no matter how revolutionary—likely will not be televised. Yet the vast majority of children who order Tebow jerseys will also see their own NFL dreams evaporate. Beyond that, many will grow up to lose jobs, disappoint loved ones, be disappointed by loved ones, and experience dark nights of the soul that persist well past dawn. For those reasons, it may be Tebow's worldly defeat—if handled with grace, humility, and constancy—that could make his jersey truly worth holding on to.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2011/12/tebow-and-the-mystery-of-victory.html
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Thanks for pointing out what's really important. These days of Tebow-mania bring to mind another Heisman-winning Florida QB, Danny Wuerffel. In 2002, Wuerffel was 2-2 as an NFL starter and completed 63% of his passes for the Redskins ... but the national media scoffed at him ... the next year, in the 2003 pre-season, he completed (I think) 68% of his passes, but the Evil One (Dan Snyder) forbade Spurrier from keeping Danny on the roster, lest Spurrier use him.
Danny went off to do work in inner city New Orleans (mind you, this was pre-Katrina) ... later in 2003, the Redskins were *desperate* for a QB and begged Wuerffel to return .. he chose to serve the poor, rather than re-enter that cesspool. That's right: serving the poor in New Orleans was more rewarding than quarterbacking an NFL team .... for some.
In the mid-90s, when Wuerffel first came to my attention at UF, I sort of scoffed at him as a Bible-thumping, annoying, cloying Evangelical. I guess the way a lot scoff at Tebow now. Then, when you look closer, they're pretty darn remarkable.
They get their rewards.