Tim Tebow says he loves Jesus more than he loves his family and is not going to keep quiet about. In response to former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer telling him to cool it with his public praise-the-Lord pronouncements, Tebow told ESPN, no way:
“If you’re married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife, I love her, the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and have the opportunity? And that’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ,” Tebow said. “It is the most important thing in my life, so every opportunity I have to tell him I love him, or I’m given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I’m going to take that opportunity.
“If you’re married, and you have a wife, and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife, I love her, the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and have the opportunity? And that’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ,” Tebow said. “It is the most important thing in my life, so every opportunity I have to tell him I love him, or I’m given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I’m going to take that opportunity.
“I look at it as a relationship I have with him, I want to give him the honor and glory every time I get the opportunity,” Tebow said. “And then after I give him the honor and glory I always try to give my teammates the honor and glory, and that’s how it works. Because Christ comes first in my life, and then my family, and then my teammates. I respect Jake’s opinion, and I really appreciate his compliment of calling me a winner, but I feel like every time I get the opportunity to give the Lord some praise he is due for it because what he did for me, and what he did on the cross for all of us. I really appreciate his opinion and I respect him, but I still will give all the honor and glory to the Lord because he deserves it.”
Tebow totally missed Plummer’s point, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk summed up very well:
There’s a distinction, however, between what Plummer criticized Tebow for and what Tebow responded to. Plummer wasn’t objecting to Tebow saying “I love you” to Jesus. Plummer was objecting to Tebow saying “I love Jesus” to the public, and saying it in just about every public appearance he makes. There’s nothing wrong with a man saying “I love you” to his wife every day, and there’s nothing wrong with a man saying “I love you” when he prays every day. What Plummer was saying is that he doesn’t think Tebow should inject his religious beliefs into a football discussion. Just as Plummer would, presumably, think it a little weird if an NFL player mentioned that he loves his wife in every interview.
I can’t remember an athlete more polarizing than Tebow. His fans worship him and his detractors just can’t stand him. John Elway, the greatest Bronco ever and now the team’s president, is being ripped in nasty ways for suggesting that the Broncos are not yet close to finding their quarterback for the long term. It was a reasonable comment given how bad of a passer Tebow is. Spare me the “he just wins” crap — it must be nice to suck for 55 minutes, and have your defense keep it close so you can put together one drive. As a Colts fan, I’m jealous. But Elway, he of two Super Bowl rings, is being excoriated by the Tebowmaniacs (“JOHN ELWAY IS A MILE HIGH JACK ASS !! Tebow is awesome.”)
A lot of gay people, myself included, can’t shake Tebow’s shilling for the virulently anti-gay Focus on the Family. And given organized religion’s stance on gay issues, I always get queasy and have a visceral reaction to anyone parading their faith in my face every chance they get.
Several commenters on Outsports theorize that Tebow (a single 24-year-old virgin) is a closeted gay man. I have no evidence of that and we at Outsports will attempt to get his views on homosexuality, but put me firmly in the camp of people who want Tebow to thank his offensive line, receivers, defense, coaches, trainers, fans, ball boys etc. before he gives yet another shoutout to Him.
