Last semester, for a variety of unimportant reasons to be examined never, I took a religion class, and got damn did I dread it. As an atheist, I figured it would be me and a couple hundred Bible thumpers of all different varieties. There would be a few C.S. Lewis-reading hipsters, and some more gun-toting flag-waving hicks, and even more average people who claim their Christian faith but do little in their lives to demonstrate it. There's nothing wrong with any of these (admittedly short-sighted) stereotypes; everyone has their own ways when dealing with higher powers, as well they should. It's just not the way I roll. I figured I'd just sit in a corner and keep my mouth shut, and at least enjoy the comedy provided by the inevitable bastardization of Jesus' actions and words into justification for bigotry and intolerance.
Of course, then, it became my favorite class, but not for the reasons I thought. The whole thing turned out to be genuinely enjoyable. Sure, there were some comments and viewpoints shared that I wouldn't agree with, but there were no examples of cray-cray zealotry. Disagreement and debate were always polite. The class centered around Christianity (of course), but nobody complained when it turned to Buddhism and Islam. When a Wiccan guest lecturer spoke, nobody even asked if he was a witch (or threatened to burn him at the stake!). People just didn't say stupid shit, and that surprised me in the best way possible.
Then we talked about Tim Tebow.
The genius of Tebow, and more specifically the marketing campaign that surrounds him, is that his name comes up in places and discussions it should never appear in. Athletes that get the type of incessant coverage in and out of the sporting world that Tebow has usually meet two criteria: 1) they must kill some dogs and/or rape some women (or perhaps commit the equally heinous crime of divorcing a Kardashian!), and 2) they must be good enough at their sporting day job for us to give a shit. Tebow doesn't come close to meeting either of these requirements. All he had to do was kneel.
***
The genius of Tebow, and more specifically the marketing campaign that surrounds him, is that his name comes up in places and discussions it should never appear in. Athletes that get the type of incessant coverage in and out of the sporting world that Tebow has usually meet two criteria: 1) they must kill some dogs and/or rape some women (or perhaps commit the equally heinous crime of divorcing a Kardashian!), and 2) they must be good enough at their sporting day job for us to give a shit. Tebow doesn't come close to meeting either of these requirements. All he had to do was kneel.
To say that any NFL quarterback is a significant figure in modern religion is blasphemy. To give that honor to a man at the helm of the league's second-worst passing offense only heightens the sin. Yet there we were, sitting in 313 Strickland, capitulating to the ESPN-manufactured narrative of Tebow as a Figure of Significance, making him matter way more than he should.
Football, like any other sport, is great because no matter what level it's played on, in the end it's just a game. It's a diversion from the heavier issues that legitimately plague our lives and our culture and out Earth. Any individual outcome doesn't effect the course of our lives or of American history or of the universe. Despite the outsize attention and love we show for football- and this blog is one of the worst offenders- in the end, none of it matters.
The natural human impulse of finding meaning in meaninglessness has to work its way into everything, though, and that impulse has settled its focus upon the quarterback of the now 9-9 Denver Broncos. I don't know if he believes his Lord & Savior Jesus Christ actively intervenes to help him win football games. If God does exist, I hope he would help the billions of people that can't find or afford food and shelter before a millionaire quarterback that can't throw a spiral. I don't think divine intervention is the secret to Tebow's success. I sure hope it isn't.
***
Our religion class spent a good twenty minutes discussing Tim Tebow a week or so after his frantic late touchdown scramble to beat the Jets launched Tebowmania in earnest. A few people praised his willingness to expose his beliefs to such ridicule (upon which you wonder how much hatred people could really have for the player that sells more jerseys than any other in the NFL). Another girl loudly defended his right to speak his mind and wondered what exactly the haters were trying to achieve.
It was then I decided, in a last-ditch effort to restore sanity, I had to break my vow of silence and talk for the first time in the semester. Wasn't a big indignant speech or anything; I just pointed out how popular he actually is and how the underdog role he's fashioned is pretty much bullshit (after all, what bigger advantage can one have in life than God's hand actively intervening on their behalf?), and that I support people who are good at what they do*. What's so special about a guy who gets paid to play quarterback but can't even throw a spiral?
And then I waited for the backlash that didn't come.
There would be one more comment. This girl grew up in Serbia and still has quite a heavy accent, yet in her words she exhibited the greatest understanding of football and culture and religion and America I have ever seen.
"Yeah, I just don't understand what the big deal is. I mean, like he said, if Tebow's a shitty player that doesn't even matter, why should we care about him?"
Nobody had an answer for her question.
No comments:
Post a Comment