Monday, November 2, 2009

Tebow Quote of the Day: Re Spikes

"I don't think that we did anything in that game that they didn't do."

-- Tim Tebow, about Brandon Spikes' eye-gouging in the Georgia game, for which Spikes was suspended the first half of the Vanderbilt game.

There is no response -- certainly at the teammate level -- than to circle the wagons. And I'm sure Georgia played dirty. But this does feel like an immature response from Tebow.

To frame it in spiritual values, Tebow's sentiment has a very "eye-for-an-eye" feel to it. (Leviticus 24: 19-21, for those scoring at home.)

That said, an essential tension in religious ethics has always been "eye-for-eye" vs. "turn-other-cheek." (Matthew 5:38-42, from The Sermon on the Mount)

But it is not unreasonable that, in this case, Football Tebow would win out over Faith Tebow.

UPDATE: Deadspin's Tommy Craggs points out a Tebow quote that would support a "turn-other-cheek" philosophy from Tebow for Spikes' actions. Now we have two competing ideas, both represented in Tebow quotes. Gives you a sense of the level of conflict on this one.
Posted by Dan Shanoff at 2:34 PM

9 comments:

  1. When has Tebow had a mature response to an adverse situation? Things were pretty peachy last year and he received more than his fair share of accolades.

    This year, he has had a small amount of adversity and he has not responded well ("they did it first," or avoiding the media, etc.).

    His "motivational" locker room speech is nothing more profound than can be found in any high school football locker room.

    Sure he has performed mission work, which is commendable. But I know other people who have gone on mission trips more for the trip aspect than the missionary work.

    Perhaps the pedestal is starting to get wobbly.
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  2. To the previous commenter,

    He has responded fine to adversity this year (I dare say he has responded better than your average 22 year old would). The 'avoiding the media' drama was over hyped, he has no obligation to talk to the media after every game and personally, if I had just played the worst game of my career I wouldn't be running towards the press room. He deserves to be able to have some private time after a hard game.

    And his speeches may not be profound but they obviously get the job done, so I'm not complaining.

    And I don't really know what his mission work has to do with any of this but for you to question why he does missionary work is a little petty, I think most people could see he does them because he cares. I don't think poor villages in the Philippines are high on many peoples list of places to take trips too.

    Anywho, I'm a little disappointed that Tebow used the 'they did it first' excuse. As far as I am concerned the Gators and the Bulldogs did some dirty things out on the field, but given the high pressure atmosphere of the game I'm willing to give both teams a pass. So long as it doesn't happen again. I'm glad to see Spikes is being punished, although I think it should have been for the whole game.

    Sorry for the novel hahaha.
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  3. We think the nuanced answer you are looking for is "walk softly and carry a big stick."

    Our full explanation here: http://www.tebowseyeblack.com/2009/11/eye-for-eye-or-turning-other-cheek.html
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  4. I'd say he does have an obligation to talk to the media. He is the most popular athlete in all of college sports. Beyond that, he is the leader of the number one team in the nation. That leadership title comes with responsibility and he shirked that responsibility when he looked bad even though the team won.

    I think being 22 is a cop out, as well. That's not so young.
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  5. I think it's fair to say Tebow has seen enough to know that both teams were playing dirty so why couldn't he allude to it? He didn't come right out and say in a childish way, that "they were doing it too" but conceded that both teams were at fault.

    This video for one shows that Tebow was hit late on at least one occasion which was pretty clean cut, but was not called:

    http://ow.ly/yKUw
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  6. Anyone that thinks Tebow isn't mature when you consider what he has dealt with over his time in college must have rocks in their head... I doubt any other athlete in college could deal with what he has in such a level headed fashion. Anyone else would have been derailed by the drama surrounding his incredible talents in this day and age. Imagine if Tebow wasn't squeaky clean? Imagine how the media would have torn him apart by now considering all the scrutiny he is under.
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  7. Dear Dan,

    Please don't hurt your ankle jumping off the Florida bandwagon. We were fine before you found our winning ways attractive and climbed aboard, and we'll be fine when you turn your tiny attention span to the next shiny thing to come along.

    Sincerely,

    Gator Nation
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  8. bk,

    He absolutely does not have any obligation to talk to the media. We have all become used to him addressing the media (spoiled even) but at the end of the day he could decide to stop talking to the media for the rest of his college career. And yes he is the leader of the #1 team in the nation and that's why I'm glad he didn't come out and speak to the media and say something he would regret. It's really not that big of a deal.

    And I don't concur, 22 is extremely young to have the amount of fame(and pressure) that Tebow has.
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  9. It's really sad that the parasitic media is using Tebow's good message as an excuse to throw every little inconsistency up in his face. What a pathetic way to make a living.
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