Maybe Uncool, but not Unexpected

Tim Tebow is someone whose popularity and press are incommensurate with his professional football track record. While Tebow has been spectacularly successful in college football, having won a Heisman trophy and two national championships, his performance and projected performance at the NFL-level doesn't warrant him the amount of newsprint, internet buzz or blogger space that is afforded him.

The reality is that the biggest part of the intrigue around Tebow is his "good-guy" and "clean-cut" image which founded upon his devout Christian beliefs and lifestyle. Tebow hasn't been shy about professing his Christian faith either, weaving it casually into interviews and putting Scripture references in his eye black. Of course, there was that oh so controversial (sarcasm) pro-life commercial that he filmed with his mother before Super Bowl XLIV.

ESPN's Jemele Hill recently wrote an article criticizing the Detroit Lions for mocking Tim Tebow's faith after the Lions crushed Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos last Sunday. In what was a 45-10 whipping, the Lions defense exposed Tebow's inability to make good decisions from the pocket, and by closing any running lanes, they hit him hard - a lot. Tebow was continually taken to the ground, and in what became a controversial move, Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch brought Tebow onto the ground, and then proceeded to drop to a knee in mock prayer, imitating Tebow's own actions after his Broncos had secured a comeback win against the Miami Dolphins a week earlier.

Hill captured the spirit of much of the criticism leveled towards Tulloch, insisting that the linebacker had crossed the line by mocking Tim Tebow's faith. Her reasoning had some merit, after all, would such actions be tolerated if Tulloch celebrated a sack by mocking a players race or non-Christian religion? Or if there were to be a homosexual player who came out in the NFL, do you think that taunting using a mock homosexual gesture would be tolerated? Of course not, the offending player would be banned for six games.

All that being said, I'm actually not overly worked up about Tulloch's gesture, which might be surprising given how central my own faith is to me. But at some point, I think that any sort of post-play routine or celebratory action becomes fair game for turnabout doesn't it?

Mocking and taunting players' own in-game displays is hardly news. Then Eagles wide receiver famouly mimicked Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis' celebratory dance upon scoring a touchdown many years back. San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson makes a cross armed gesture whenever he saves a game, and when Dodgers third basemen Casey Blake hit a clutch homer off of Wilson, Blake proceeded to imitate the gesture, much to Wilson's ire. Interestingly, Wilson noted that his faith was in part driving the gesture:

"It shows no disrespect toward anybody. It's all positive praise. It's not for showboating. It's not to start an epidemic. It's just me getting a quick message out to the world and to Christ and that's it. I just thought, `What more perfect time to display my faith than at the end of a game?'"

So if Wilson's gesture (which doesn't look remotely like a religious gesture, but something you'd see at a heavy metal concert) is a nod to his Christian beliefs, does it mean that mocking that move is out of bounds, too? When a wide receiver torches a defender, scores a touchdown and points to the sky, are we going to call it a hate crime when the defender picks off the pass and runs it back and does the same thing?

On another note, let's be honest about a big part of what's going on here. A lot of players are jealous of Tim Tebow. Tebow's track record for a professional QB is thus far abyssmal, and he has the second highest selling jersey behind Super Bowl winning QB Aaron Rodgers. He has endorsements up to his neck and gets interviewed ad nauseum because of who he is and what he stands for. In the gladiator culture of football, there's certainly some resentment towards a player, who hasn't earned the fame on the field. But the more insidious aspect is that players personalize it, thinking that they themselves are more worthy of the fame and glory than Tebow is. When Stephen Tulloch unleashes on Tim Tebow and mocks him, he's taking out his frustrations that a man who has started two games (and played terribly in both) has already received more adulation and fame than a solid six-year veteran middle linebacker will ever get in his lifetime. It's jealousy, and any opposing player than says otherwise is lying.

As for Tebow, I think he's going to have to suck it up and realize that this is going to be the new normal for him in this league. As a devout Christian, Tebow would know that what's going on here isn't surprising at all. Maybe Tebow should consider painting Matthew 10:22 on his eye black.