Tag Archives: Tim Tebow

Voters agree: Cowboys are not ‘America’s Team’

The voters agree — the Dallas Cowboys are not “America’s Team.” that’s the finding of the third annual NFL poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, a liberal-leaning firm that surveys voters on a variety of issues. And non-issues.

The survey, released on Jan. 2, found that just 23 percent of voters think the Cowboys deserve the label. The survey also found that voters were not divided along political lines — 63 percent of independents, 61 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Democrats say they don’t consider the Cowboys to be “America’s Team.”

And about 23 percent of voters say the Cowboys are America’s least favorite team. About 13 percent say the Bears are America’s least favorite team, 9 percent say the Patriots, 8 percent say the Broncos, 6 percent say the Steelers and 5 percent say the Giants.

There is no decisive majority for America’s favorite team. The Broncos come out on top with 14 percent, the Cowboys at 12 percent, the Packers at 11 percent, the Bears at 10 percent and the Patriots at 8 percent.

In 2011, when PPP conducted the poll and the Packers were undefeated, 22 percent of U.S. voters said the Green Bay team was America’s favorite.

Peyton Manning is the clear favorite among quarterbacks at 22 percent, followed by Tom Brady and Robert Griffin III at 13 percent, Drew Brees at 9 percent, Aaron Rodgers at 8 percent, Tim Tebow at 7 percent, Russell Wilson at 5 percent and Eli Manning at 4 percent.

About 18 percent of voters say Brady is their least favorite quarterback. Twelve percent say that about Tebow.

The poll also found that about 18 percent of voters think the Redskins should change their name, 71 percent think they should keep the name. Republicans were far more likely than Democrats to support status quo for the D.C. team.

Tebow bows to pressure, cancels date at hate church

Bowing to pressure, fundamentalist Christian NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has canceled his appearance to speak at the opening of a new Dallas megachurch presided over by pastor Robert Jeffress. The pastor has been likened to Fred Phelps, of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, for his condemnation of gays, Jews, and others.

“Due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my… upcoming appearance,” tweeted Tebow, who is famous for making showy displays of his faith on the field.

Those shows have inspired the coining of a new word – “tebowing.”

“I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day,” Tebow added in another Tweet.

According to Jeffress, Tebow said the quarterback texted him that “some advisers around him had counseled him that he needed to go ahead and not come and he was going to stick with that decision.”

Representatives for Tebow did not return multiple requests for comment sent by The Daily Beast.

“Tim is a member of a Southern Baptist Church, the First Baptist Church of Jacksonsville, Fla., that believes exactly what we believe about those issues, and Tim affirmed that that is what their church believes,” Jeffress said. “So I think Tim was probably speaking the truth when he said it wasn’t the belief of our church – it was the controversy surrounding his appearance.”

Tebow also bowed out under pressure from an appearance at a hate church in Ohio last year.

Although Jeffress was understanding of Tebow’s action, the rest of the far-right religious community has responded with outrage, charging that Tebow is more concerned about his image than spreading the Gospel.

“Tim Tebow now joins the pantheon of celebrities who’ve cowered before the Homosexual Lobby,” tweeted right-wing, anti-gay religious leader Peter LaBarbera – also known as “Porno Pete” for his habit of meticulously videotaping sexual activity at gay party venues.

“Very sad that he threw Jeffress under the bus,” LaBarbera added.

Hate radio host Bryan Fischer said to his audience, “Does he disagree with (Jeffress) when he says that homosexuality is a sin? Does he disagree with him when he says that Islam is a false religion? If Tebow does not in fact disagree with Jeffress on any of these points, then his decision looks like nothing more than craven capitulation to the nattering nabobs of negativism and intolerance.”

Tebow is coming off a dismal season with the New York Jets. The team is reportedly looking to trade the back-up quarterback.

NFL’s Tim Tebow to be guest speaker at Texas hate church

Jets quarterback Tim Tebow is scheduled to be the main attraction at a far-right Baptist mega-church in Texas on Sunday morning, April 28, according to the church’s website.

The 11,000-member First Baptist Dallas Church is led by the ferociously anti-gay Rev. Robert Jeffress, who once accused gay activists of trying to hide “the link between homosexuality and pedophilia.”

In November, Jeffress warned that President Obama’s reelection “would lead to a rise of the anti-Christ.” He’s described Islam, Judaism and Mormonism as heretical religions “from the pit of hell.”

“You can’t be saved being a Jew,” Jeffress has warned. In a sermon last year, he informed his right-wing congregation that  “70 percent of the gay population” has AIDS.

Tebow is well-known for his fundamentalist Christian faith. His penchant for kneeling in prayer on the playing field led to the creation of the slang word “Tebowing,” which refers to putting on showy displays of faith.

In 2010, Tebow appeared during the Superbowl in a controversial anti-choice ad with his mother Pam. The commercial was paid for by the anti-gay group Focus on the Family.

Tebow is reportedly being dumped by the Jets following a dismal season.