Tag Archives: Tim Tebow

March 22, 2012, 11:15 am

But Will He Tebow in Washington Square Park?

(Getty photo at TMZ.com. Click on photo to get to source page.)

Denver Broncos quarterback and polarizing Evangelical icon Tim Tebow is joining the New York Jets. Those would be my New York Jets. I confess to being baffled. And intrigued by the cultural implications of it all.

I am not baffled because there is anything unusual about a Conservative Christian playing football in New York or anywhere else for that matter. A modern professional football team is, after all, a collection of really ripped, really talented Evangelical players and really ripped, really talented non-Evangelical players.

What’s baffling (aside from the fact that the Jets already have a perfectly good, if somewhat uneven, quarterback in Mark Sanchez) is the incongruity of the fit between the player and the city. This particular Evangelical…

February 6, 2012, 11:56 am

What Was Holy About Super Bowl XLVI?

By Jacques Berlinerblau

False idol?

As I watched the outstretched arms of “the Gronker” (née Rob Gronkowski, the Goliath-sized New England tight end with hands the size of flat-screen TV’s) poised to haul in Tom Brady’s desperation Hail Mary pass at the end time of Super Bowl XLVI, I heard myself–I admit–pronounce the name of God. (Modified by an adjective that I cannot bring myself to admit.)

My hunch is that 120 million or so Americans–believers and nonbelievers alike– were invoking sacred and/or profane words right along with me as time ran down. Why is it that the experience of football is so bound up with religion?

“I mean the Super Bowl,” mused half-time performer Madonna, “is kind of like the holy of holies in America right?” I do think Madonna was on to something. Though perhaps the insight was …

January 14, 2012, 10:50 am

Tim Tebow (and the Secular Jews)

By Jacques Berlinerblau

“So, if Tebow wins against the Pats on Saturday night, then even the Jews are going to convert to Christianity.” So opined my not-exceedingly observant (or reverent) Jewish breakfast partner yesterday. “What about the Reform Jews?” I asked.

“Absolutely and they’ll be holding tambourines.” he responded.

“Reconstructionist and Secular Humanistic Jews, too?”

“Faster than you can say ‘egalitarian congregation.’”

“What about Jews in like Belgium or Israel?”

“Can’t be sure about Belgium, but if Israeli Jews come to Christ it could refresh certain synergies on the foreign policy level.”

The combination of improbable football success and unabashed faith in the form of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is now triggering conversations like this across the country (Surely, the essay “Tim Tebow (and the Secular Sikhs)” is going up over at HuffPo as we speak).

Many…