Tebow, His Commercial And The NFL
Tim Tebow has made three decisions that will impact his future as an NFL player; playing in the Senior Bowl, working with a full time quarterback coach, and participating in a commercial with Focus On The Family.
Tebow and his mother have filmed a commercial promoting Focus On The Family’s campaign against legalized abortion. That Pam Tebow risked her life in order to carry Tim to full term is a compelling story. Focus On The Family is banking on that story resonating with casual fans, who don’t know that doctors told Pam that she or Tim could die in pregnancy due to complications from amoebic dysentery.
While at Florida, you could have made an educated guess that Tebow was a Republican. Focus On The Family is not Republican though. They are hardcore conservative. It would be as if Tebow was a Democrat endorsing ACORN. There is nothing wrong with endorsing candidates or parties, being pro-life or pro-choice. But for a guy entering the pros, Tebow cannot be aligning himself with groups that exist on the fringes of American politics.
Focus On The Family and founder Dr. James Dobson have spent the last 30 years campaigning against gay rights (including pulling teh ghey out of you), against legalized abortion and against public schools. I would say there is a pretty good chance that Tim Tebow would believe in all three of these. Even if that was the case, these are polarizing issues, not like raising money for his father’s mission or the United Way. Tebow can’t afford to make these endorsements as a rookie. (There is already a facebook group against the Focus On The Family ad. And it’s not a fun one like “I’m with Coco.”)
Tebow has to consider his statements as to who drafts him. In purple Florida, you can be hardcore conservative, especially with an adoring fanbase that doesn’t give a damn who you vote for as long as you win. If Tebow gets drafted by Peter King’s pick of San Francisco, how would Tebow react to that? How would he answer questions about his association to Dobson’s anti-gay rights agenda in the capital of gay rights? You could ask the same question if Tebow is drafted by the Bills, who pull a large share of their fanbase from liberal Canada. (However, Tebow wouldn’t be the first politically active Bills QB. Former Bills QB and Congressman, the late Jack Kemp, was a Goldwater Republican who served nine terms representing his Western New York district. He was also HUD Secretary and 1996 Republican VP nominee.) In Florida, Tebow has some “political capital,” as GWB would say. Anywhere else, Tebow has none until he wins.
AlligatorArmy.com
1/19/10
