I’m ba-aaaaack….
It was a refreshing time away from the blog. You can take the boy away from the blog, but you can’t take the blog out of the boy, though: 3-4 times a day, I would encounter something and immediately think, “oooh! I should do a post on that!”
To the carpenter, everything is a 2×4. To the artist, everything is a canvas. To the blogger, everything is a blog post. This is one of the many dangers of such a demanding mistress.
I will only be able to post on a small percentage of those ideas, but one of them I can across today. Get a load of this article on Tim Tebow’s legacy.
The article touches upon only a small smidgeon of his legacy. It focuses on the impact he’s had on the U of F fans. There is a larger eternal impact past that. I admit, when I first saw him play vs. my beloved Ohio State in the national championship game a few years back, I really didn’t think highly of him. But the last few years, his actions and words on and off the field have won me over.
Here’s an exerpt:
The numbers and awards are all impressive and voluminous, but they’re not what have made the quarterback a historic figure in Florida and beyond. That’s due to the winning attributes, the leadership qualities, the endless acts of charity performed off the field, the ability to graciously lead a heavily scrutinized life.
You just don’t find all those things in a single college-aged package.
Tebow long ago entered another dimension of stardom, as his impact went viral. He is the most polarizing college athlete ever, by a wide margin, engendering the deepest of feelings across the culture.
The cynical and envious rip him — and rip the media for saying nice things about him, claiming that he is overhyped. (They’ll say that very thing about this column, I’m quite sure.) Some roll their eyes at his unapologetically public Christianity — worn on his sleeve and under his eyes — despite the authenticity that underlies it in word and deed.
It has become an unfortunate aspect of our Hater Nation mentality that many of us cannot stand too much of a good thing.
But the Tebow lovers are numerous and ardent as well. And Saturday was their day to be seen and heard.
I love that phrase–unapologetically public Christianity. The Church needs more of this. Far too often we listen to a cynical world that tells us to shut up and keep it locked up and private. I am glad Tebow has not cowed to the pressure one bit.
Sometimes tokens like eye black can be cheezy and quite stereotypical, and those in the Church should be cautious of leaning on such physical displays (fish magnets on cars, Christaneeze t-shirts are other examples–I avoid both) as the sole or even main witness in public, but it is my prayer that many of our youth take Tebow’s example to heart and boldly live out their apprenticeship to Christ in the public…like the article says, in both word and deed.
For Tim Tebow, his impact has just begun.
