I’m really excited about some of the posts for this week. To start us off, I’m going to dabble in the Tim Tebow pool some more… but don’t worry, I’m not repeating all of the hype about the Broncos-Steelers game. And by the time I’m done typing this and scheduling it to be published, I hope you know that the Broncos haven’t even played the New England Patriots yet.
Today’s post is about something I just read, that I’ve never heard before about Tim Tebow, and about something that hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as his John 3:16 eye black or the correlation between his passing yards and the famous Bible verse. Today I want to share with you this story from ESPN that introduces you to the Tim Tebow off of the football field. You know, during the times when we are all obsessing, tweeting, blogging, and posting on Facebook about his athleticism and his strong faith with God.
This is how Rick Reilly from ESPN describes it:
Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured, flies them and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave and Buster’s), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.
Wow. Now, I know that many people think that Tebow is becoming a tired subject, and I know that many doubt his sincerity, but if you take any time at all to learn a little about him, you will realize that people who know him or have met him think that he is completely genuine. I’ve read numerous things about his kindness and I’ve read articles about people who refused to jump on the “Tebow Bandwagon”, but who caved after getting to know him.
It’s amazing that someone like Tebow will not only use his celebrity platform to get more people thinking about Christianity, but he actually puts his beliefs into action. He is out there spending time with these hurting people and doing so right after a great play or the best game of his life. The article goes on to say that he spends time with these people, as if they are what’s important and he’s not even thinking about what just happened on the football field.
On a side note, I think it’s truly refreshing and inspiring to see someone stay so true to their faith without retaliating against the people who insist on bashing him. He doesn’t represent himself as a vengeful or angry person. He stays quiet or thanks people for challenging him.
What are your thoughts on Tim Tebow? Do you think he is making an impact with non-believers?