Written by Blake Mathews
Tim Tebow almost had it. He worked hard during his time at Florida, as did the people around him working to keep his public image polished. He was a standout quarterback who led his team against defensive linemen and cameramen, a shining example on and off the field to all the little boys dreaming of traditional all-American greatness.
I don’t actually know that much about Tebow. Ask Chris O’Dell, or any of my roommates, if you want to have a conversation about the outgoing Florida quarterback. What I have gleaned from hearing about him is that he ended his college career at a high point publicity-wise. Tebow almost had that perfect romantic exit, the incorruptible hero riding off into the sunset, into legend. All he had to do was graduate quietly.
But Tebow is back in the spotlight, and this time it’s burning him a little. He recently lent his star power and his story to Focus on the Family, the Christian advocacy group founded by James Dobson. Together, with a couple million dollars between them, they’ve made an anti-abortion ad to be aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday.
It’s the biggest game of the year, with two great teams and millions of viewers tuning in, and Tebow is going to overshadow all of it in 30 seconds. He’s going to force every football fan in America to put down their giant foam fingers and ask themselves, “How do I really feel about Roe v. Wade?” So much for walking off into the sunset.
My own views on the matter are private, but I respect Tebow for having the guts to face down the enormous amount of flak that he must know is coming his way. Planned Parenthood already released a counter-ad that implies, rather sneakily, that Tebow and his cause are on the wrong side of the fight for women’s rights. It’s only a matter of time before the floodgates of gay and aggressively pro-choice bloggers open and Tebow’s name and career are chained to the idea of conservative Christian bigotry.
Basically, this isn’t going to end well for Tim. An ad decrying abortion during the Super Bowl isn’t going to win anyone any points, and CBS had the right idea for so many years by rejecting all advocacy commercials during the big game. Planned Parenthood might come out on top of this, but only because Focus on the Family threw the first punch. The fight between pro-life and pro-choice is a deeply personal one, not one that can be won with weapons of mass media.
I have to wonder if Dobson knows this, if he cares or if Tebow’s sacrifice is just a means to an elusive end. There’s no question of Tebow’s motivation; he’s been telling the story of his near-aborted birth for a good while now. That’s his gospel. But I’m skeptical by default of special interest groups, even (especially) the ones claiming to represent my views. Focus on the Family is just like any other lobby: they promote their worldview at the expense of their detractors’. Don’t write them a black check just because you agree with them on a highly polarizing issue.
I would love to think that both Focus on the Family and Planned Parenthood act as they do purely out of concern for their fellow men and women. I would love to put my skepticism aside and embrace the Super Bowl as a forum for free speech. But I smell rats, and I see two policy-hungry groups upping the ante in their battle for the public opinion. In the middle of it all is a good football player with a good heart and a story I wouldn’t mind hearing if it weren’t part of an ad campaign. Tebow, good luck out there. You’ll need it.
