Texas Town Hosts Sports Icon Easter Sunday

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Created on Monday, 09 April 2012 00:31

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 07:51

Written by Travis Pulver

It is not uncommon for many small towns in Texas to turn into havens for tumbleweeds on Friday night. College campuses attract thousands of alumni back every fall for at least one Saturday afternoon (if not more). Families have divided due to arguments concerning the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies.

Ask most Cowboy fans and they’ll say that former Dallas head coach Tom Landry has a seat right next to the big man upstairs himself. Ask fans of the Texans and they’ll say that it was an act by the same big man that brought pro football back to the city of Houston.

Football has been compared to a religion in the state of Texas, but on Easter Sunday the two were actually married together for a brief moment when a person who could be considered an icon for both in modern society visited a church in the small town of Georgetown, Texas.

I’m talking about Tim Tebow of course.

The most talked about quarterback in the NFL next to Peyton Manning visited the Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas, to give a sermon, something that he has done often in the past. Why he was speaking at a church in Texas and not New York or Florida is not known. According to a church spokesperson it was Tebow that reached out.

Regardless of the reason, fans of the controversial quarterback flocked to the small town in order to hear the former Heisman Trophy winner speak. For the day the town of roughly 47,000 grew by about 33 percent as 15,000 people took advantage of the opportunity.

“I only got about four hours sleep, I was so excited, said Amanda O’Hara who made the 100 mile trip from San Antonio so she could be at the church by 4:30 AM. “He doesn’t hide who he is. Parents should see him as a role model.”

Role models ended up being one of the things that Tebow spoke about. Many professional athletes excuse their outlandish and often immoral and/or illegal behavior by simply saying they never asked to be a role model for anyone.

“Yes you are [a role model]. You’re just not a good one,” Tebow said.

The world is essentially split in its opinion of Tim Tebow. Many applaud him for his ability to find a way to win on the field and for standing by his convictions. Others lambasted him for his unconventional style of play and for abusing his notoriety to promote religion.

The sporting world is rife with personalities that could care less about the destruction they wreak on society as long as they get paid; honesty, integrity, and honor means little to many as long as they win. We need to look no further than the New Orleans Saints for that. Recent scandals like those in Yuba City and another involving Yavapai Community College (both baseball-related) are proof of how the ugliness at the highest level of the game trickles down to the lower levels.

Tim Tebow may never win a Super Bowl or even a division title as a pro. He’ll likely continue to be torched by the media and analysts for what they perceive is a lack of football-related talent. Regardless of what they say there is one thing you can count on him doing while he is still in the forefront of the sports-loving world.

He’ll continue to speak his mind like he did Sunday in a small Texas town (something the world could sure use).