The room that was filled with the sounds of much commotion, laughter, and children running up and down the halls, quickly hushed as the much talked about “Tim Tebow Commercial” made it’s first debut in front of not only our small gathering, but in front of millions of people gathered nationwide to witness this year’s Superbowl. I have to be honest, I didn’t hear the first part of what his mother Pam Tebow was saying, but like most of us watching was somewhat surprised when Tim came barreling across to tackle her. I went home later that night to rewatch, excited to hear what the star quarterback to my own personal favorite college football team had to say about her decision not to abort. To some with me last night, there was much dismay as the commercial spoke nothing of her own personal decision, but focused around her son as a “miracle baby.”
It didn’t reflect what many of us had anticipated. There were no in- utero pictures, nothing saying “Choose Life” and nothing from Tebow about his own personal decision to remain chaste. To some gathered in the room and around the country, it was a pro-life media and advertising flop. I admit it wasn’t what I was expecting. In truth I didn’t care about what the message was or who Tebow was going to represent. I was a Tebow fan long before his first heisman and his eye tape that caused his chosen bible verse to be the top google search of the day. I felt like a proud Gator fan.
After the initial shock a friend of mine said to me, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” Buzz Aldrin’s words seemed to fit this moment. This small step taken by Focus on the Family not only proved right for the pro-life movement, but will prove to be a giant leap for humankind across the globe. Much thanks has been given to CBS and I join in thanking them for allowing this “small step.” In a day and age where media is biased to the fact that pro-life America outnumbers those supporters of abortion and denies that there is no real progress in the pro-life movement although over half of abortion centers in the US have been closed, news networks fail to report the largest human civil rights march in the history of our nation, and the fact that more and more women choose life because of crisis pregnancy centers, we can count this commercial as a giant leap for humanity.
And so what if all it advertised was a website? I have no doubt that Focus on the Family page hits have increased since last night. And those who visit their website are exposed to resources promoting the sanctity of not only human life, but the sanctity of marriage and the sanctity of human sexuality. This commercial does not discourage me. I am encouraged. Tim Tebow is only a month in age apart from me and what greater witness to the Gospel of Life than a young man who resists this present culture of death to proclaim Jesus as Lord and proclaim wherever he goes the love of his savior and the sacredness of every human life. GO GATORS!