Tebowing “Is Not Something I Ever Thought I’d Have To Do.”
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As mayors of cities often do, the mayor of Pittsburgh and the mayor of Denver had a friendly bet on the outcome of the game. This is normal and it just adds some local flavor to the hype.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl bet that if the Bronco’s won, he would wear a Denver Nronco jersey and “Tebow.” “Tebowing” is the practice of getting down on one knee just as the Denver quarterback Tim Tebow does before, during and after games. It is copying the way Tebow prays.
For some, Tebowing is a salute to the quarterback. For others, it is a call to prayer. And for others, it is done in a way to mock the faith of Tebow.
For his part, Tebow doesn’t have a problem with it.
If I can help be an example of that, then I look at that as a blessing,” says Tebow…
“It’s not my job to see what people’s reasons are behind it. But I know, like a kid that tweeted me with cancer and said, ‘I’m Tebowing while I’m chemo-ing.’ How cool is that? That’s worth it right there for that kid.
“If that gives him any encouragement or just puts a smile on his face or gives him encouragement to pray, then that’s really awesome and that’s completely worth it for me.”
So why does it bother us to some extent the mayor of Pittsburgh made “Tebowing” a part of a bet?
Why does it bother us to some extent that he said:
“This is not something I ever thought I’d have to do, and it’s certainly not something I’m looking forward to,” Ravenstahl said. “However, we’re good sports here in Pittsburgh, and I want to congratulate Denver on a great win.”
People “Tebow” to either mock him or in agreement to his faith.
So is the mayor saying he never thought he’d have to pray like Tebow? Or is he saying that he never thought he’d have to mock Tebow? If the latter, why is the mayor of a city mocking someone at all?
We realize that we are probably reading much more into this that is there. We don’t want to make too much of an issue about this. At the same time, there is something unseemly about “Tebowing” being part of a bet.
It just doesn’t “feel” right to us.
On a brighter note, a friend of Raised on Hoecakes told us a “Tebow” joke, and we thought we’d pass it on to you.
On the day that Tom Brady died, he went to heaven and was assigned a modest house. Looking down the street he could see a huge mansion painted in blue and orange, (the colors of the Denver Broncos and Florida Gators.) Massive Bronco and Gator flags swayed in the breeze.
Brady was somewhat upset by this and he approached Saint Peter to ask about the different homes.
“Why is mine so much smaller than Tebow’s?” he asked. “I won more games. I was a better quarterback. I won more Super Bowls…..”
Saint Peter looked at him and replied, “that’s not Tim Tebow’s house, that God’s.”
I think the Pittsburg Mayor is saying he never thought that the Stealers would lose to Denver.
To some extent I agree.
It is a horribly worded statement which leaves room for interpretation.
Even if the mayor never thought the Steelers would lose, what is the purpose behind the terms of the wager? Usually these bets are for food or something native to the area or something the mayor doesn’t want to do. We’ve seen bets for wearing the opposing teams jersey and singing their fight song, or flying the other team’s flag.
So why make a bet with a man’s faith as the wager?
I think that is the issue we are having with this.
In the scheme of things, it certainly is a minor issue. But we contend the actual wager and the statement were not well thought out.
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