The Tim Tebow Effect and Why MJ May Not Be the Greatest Ever

Quick, what do Tim Tebow and Michael Jordan have to do with the Confederate flag? *Cue Jeopardy music* If your answer was, "Both played college sports in the South". Your answer

was...incorrect. Take a good look at the image below. 

Does it make you think of racism, hatred or bigotry? For many this image above is just as offensive as the Nazi Swastika. But why? This is not, nor has it ever been one of the three official flags of the Confederacy during the Civil War, yet so many people including myself a few years ago would become instantly irate just at the site of it. 

Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce you to the immense power of media. Because of textbooks, t-shirts, rallies and uproars this one false image can easily offend and cause debate. Why was this particular image chosen to represent the Confederacy today? I don't know. But I do know that media has fueled us into a misguided frenzy. Which brings me to one, Mr. Tim Tebow the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. 

Without getting too technical for my non-football readers, Tebow is a quaterback. And like all football players and all athletes in general they are evaluated by their performance on the field. Nowhere else. So it only makes sense to look the "on-the-field" stats. In his career (23 games) he has thrown for 2,382 YDS, 17 TD, with 47.3% accuracy. To be fair lets put this in perspective, Tony Romo just LAST SEASON, not his career threw for 4,184 YDS, 31 TD with 66.3% accuracy. It doesn't take a math major to tell you that Romo nearly doubled Tebow in these categories. But get this, Tebow was voted as on of the top 100 players of 2012 and was just 4 spots behind Romo at 91 (Tebow #95). With just four spots separating them and Romo being clearly superior, do you feel Tim belongs on that list or have crazed fans prayed him  among the top players?

If the truth really sets us free then Tim shouldn't even be on the provisional top 100 players list. He is a terrible NFL QB (currently) but his name comes up because of his faith and everything that he as done off the field. Yes, he is a great role model, more players should be like him off the field but what you do off the football field on mission trips and in the Philippines while saving little kids does not validate him to be among the best players. The fact the ESPN even covers a Tebow topic Monday through Friday is absurd, he's a backup QB. In what other sport do 2nd team guys make SportsCenter? Not to mention First Take, Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption and the myriad of other shows that make him ubiquitous.

  

Because of Tebow's faith we were introduced to "Tebowing"...

which caught caught fire and spread to the NBA.

If you haven figured it out by now, the media can severely alter your thoughts and what you believe to be true. Millions of people believe that the "Confederate" flag we see today was the original and official flag that flew during the Civil War. And the followers of Tebowmania believe in their heart that Tim Tebow is the greatest QB to ever play. Because of these facts I often wonder if Michael Jordan was the greatest player ever. 

Was it the games we watched at 7 and 8 years old or the Tebow Effect that let us know how great he was? Or is it the commercial we saw at 17 and 18, it was maybe the shoes we lined up to purchase. Or was it simply Nike and Gatorade that told us that he was the greatest? Just like Tebow's off the field church trips and saint-like celebrations, what if everything around us, not Jordan's actual game that makes him better than what he was. In no way am I saying MJ wasn't a great player but would there be such a unanimous decision if he didn't have is own wildly popular shoe line among other products? 

Answer this: What NBA player has 6 championships, is all-time leader scorer in NBA history, made 10 NBA-1st Teams, lead the NBA in blocks 4 times, rookie of the year, named one of the NBA's 50 greatest all-time list and made the NBA All Star Team 19 times. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabar. He is tied with Jordan in titles, also won rookie of the year, has more All Star appearances and tied in NBA 1st teams. I am not making a case for which of the two was better and I am certain not asking for a 1-on-1-in-their-prime-game. 

I'm just asking you to consider the source. Try and remember who told you MJ was the greatest and who reminds you in a series of 30 second highlights with dramatic music that he was the best. Then admit that Jordan could just be your favorite player and not the greatest player because they are two completely different things. 

Just a thought.