When America dug deeper, it found she lacked basic map skills and knew frighteningly little about American foreign policy for a person one heart attack away from running the country. She also wondered aloud exactly what one did in the vice-president job that she was applying for and bumbled the mechanics of policy, health care, and tax code.
Likewise, Tebow was untouchable in college: he was the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy, and he led the Florida Gators to a national championship. College football is much slower and sloppier than its professional twin; in that forum, Tebow’s valiant efforts concealed his lack of polish. In the NFL, he has nowhere to hide. Since being promoted to starting quarterback, he regularly completes less than half the passes he throws in a game. He has been accused of slow and ugly throwing mechanics (one sports writer said you could time his release with a sundial). Critics say he can’t read the field after the snap and that at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds he is the wrong size for his position, and shouldn’t play it at all.
“If Tebow were black, it’s unlikely that he would ever get a chance to play quarterback in the NFL,” Bleacher Report’s Mike Frandsen wrote recently, citing his “awkward and inaccurate throwing motion.” He noted that “historically, black quarterbacks who are unconventional players get converted to other positions,” then rattled off many examples. Tebow is white, popular, and still throwing the ball.
“The national nightmare continues,” Charles Barkley said in a
radio interview of Tebow’s recent win. “He had a great game. He’s
supposed to have a great game.” Barkley was referring to idea that professional athletes are paid to do a job.
But Tebow has set records, his followers will argue—and it’s true. He now owns the postseason title for most yards per completion. At times, he has lead both his team and the entire NFL in jersey sales. But he’ll never break records that are real and meaningful, the go-down-in-history kind. He’ll never hold the most passing yards in a season like Saints star Drew Brees. Instead, he is predicted to continue to struggle, just as Palin has. She broke records, too—like first woman and first Alaskan on a Republican vice-presidential ticket, but she’ll never be the first woman president, and that’s the one that counts.
The more Palin and Tebow falter, the more rabid their supporters become. Despite her many missteps, Palin’s grizzly moms flocked to her, while their husbands thought she was “
hot.” “Sarah Palin bleeds American,” gushed a poster on Redstate.com. Supporters launched the “down-to-earth” and “homespun” Palin into a fame reserved for sitting presidents and royalty—when she had done little more than stand and wave. Today, her Facebook page is overrun with pleas for her to enter the presidential race: “Ms. Palin, we love you!” it says, and “Run, Sarah, Run!” These appeals just may foreshadow a political second act.
Tebow fans speak of him with staggering hyperbole—even for the exaggerated, aggrandized world of professional sports. Saturday’s dazzling overtime win against the Steelers birthed this Bleacher Report headline: “Tim Tebow’s 2011 Denver Broncos: The Most Incredible Team Season in NFL History.” Tebow “faced more pressure than any NFL quarterback has ever faced and responded with his best game yet,” said ESPN’s Tebow superfan, Skip Bayless. “I’m not sure any quarterback in football can do what Tim Tebow keeps doing in the 4th quarter,” he said. His colleague Stephen A. Smith disagreed, and nearly tore apart their desk.
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