Two Takes on Tim

As you saw if you read the piece I linked last week, some folks see Tim Tebow's success on the football field and try to explain it. That New York Times piece credited his success to the confidence he gets from his faith. I've heard others suggest that God rewards Tebow with wins because of his faith. That idea starts to get a little problematic when his team loses to the likes of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady-led Patriots. Does God prefer Bill and Tom's lifestyles to Tim's?

Today, two articles that are a few weeks old:

Here, sportswriter Chuck Klosterman suggests that we just might not be able to explain Tim's success (even with the loss on Sunday, the Broncos are 7-2 with Tebow starting). And he says the inexplicable nature of it is exactly why some love him and others hate him.

In a brief response to Klosterman's post, Bible professor Denny Burk says the most remarkable thing about Tebow isn't what he does on the field, but how he handles himself off the field.

Klosterman on the polarization of opinions surrounding Tebow:

On one pole, you have people who hate him because he's too much of an in-your-face good person, which makes very little sense; at the other pole, you have people who love him because he succeeds at his job while being uniquely unskilled at its traditional requirements, which seems almost as weird.

 Burk on whether God is rewarding Tebow's faith with football victories:

It is wrong to interpret Tebow’s victories on the field as the reward for his behavior. That could all change at any moment. Tebow’s real moment to shine and to confound his critics will probably come when the victories end.

 Well, Tebow's Broncos suffered a loss this week. Is he still shining? Here's a bonus article from Boston Herald writer Ron Borges, which gives you a sense of how he's responding (please forgive the ridiculous comparison of Tebow to Job).

Once [the game] was finished [prayer] was the first thing Tebow did, just like he does when he wins. He was on one knee in the center of the field with a number of players from both teams, joining hands in a prayer of thanks.

Thanks, Tim. You keep giving me a lot to think about. Have a Merry Christmas, buddy, and we look forward to more to blog about next week!