I find that a brisk walk in the morning really stimulates my mind. It’s a great way for any PhD student to start the day. This morning on my walk to campus I found myself again reflecting on philosophical and theological concepts. I was deep in thought contemplating… Tim Tebow.
For what it’s worth, I’m a huge football fan. I’ve been watching football for as long as I can remember. I’ve played and coached, and I, like so many others my age, still like to reminisce about my high school days a la “Uncle Rico.” But it stops there. I am no sportswriter, or analyst, and like most fans I do not know the “ins and outs” of football. But I do claim to know a few things about the way people think. And this is why all that which surrounds Tim Tebow intrigues me.
First I should say that I’m a huge fan of Tim Tebow. I have followed him since his high school years, through his success at Florida, and now as a Denver Bronco. Now alas, plenty of you will check out here, because the rest of what I have to say is driven by a fascination that makes it impossible for me to see the blatantly obvious fact that Tim Tebow is not, nor will he ever be, a “successful NFL quarterback.” But please, don’t write me off so quickly. I implore you to humor me if just for a moment…
I find it quite amusing when I hear commentators time and time again say that Tim Tebow is not a “good quarterback.” In philosophy “is” statements address existence at its most fundamental level. This means that before determining if Tim Tebow is not a “good QB,” one first has to define what a “good quarterback” is. In doing so, we can clarify underlying assumptions. Thus, we may ask, what is one assuming when they say Tim Tebow is not a “good quarterback?” I want to argue that anyone who says Tim Tebow is not a good QB assumes that the “goodness” of an NFL QB can be reduced to his ability to throw a ball accurately, full stop. I state emphatically that all of the criticism that I have heard (regarding Tim Tebow’s playing ability) can be reduced to his accuracy. But is this really all a good QB is?
A common error of the last few hundred years of thought is that the parts precede the whole. This is called “reductionism;” the theory that everything can and should be reduced to its parts. We proceed from the parts to get to the whole, but the whole isn’t real. It’s just what you get when you put all the parts together. How does this relate to football?
The obsession with statistics (helped most recently by fantasy football) has led to the reduction of a player to his quantifiable statistical make up. Players are increasingly defined by their statistics. The assumption made is that the statistic is the player. But this is NOT the case.
To cite an analogy: In quantum physics theorists have realized that their definition of particles says nothing about the being of the particle (the actual particle). The measuring devices used are only giving data and measurements, but because this data is not the particle they admit that they really know nothing about the particle itself. This is because in physics any qualitative assessment is disregarded and precedence is given to that which is quantifiable (I should note that as a result theorist have been willing to incorporate qualitative analyses). The assumption is that quality is not real; it only exists in one’s mind, and therefore need not be considered.
But I want to argue that the question of “being,” although quantifiable in the terms addressed above, always is a question of quality. It turns out that we do have the ability to see quality in the world (thank God for commentators like Skip Bayless). Quality is real, and it can be assessed! “Being,” properly assessed, acknowledges the parts, but only in light of the whole. Although its quantifiable parts are distinguishable, the whole is always qualitative. Many commentators and fans alike cannot wrap their minds around the success of Tim Tebow because they reduce him to parts (I should add that without the whole there are no such things as a “persons” so we’d better be careful of how we talk of athletes.).
Now if I am correct, it would seem that to reduce Tim Tebow, or any other player, to their statistics, and even worse only one statistic (in Tebow’s case: accuracy) seems rather naïve, and I would go as far as to say, nihilistic. No one, including a “successful quarterback” in the NFL, should be reduced to his parts.
There’s more. As Tebow continues to win his harshest critics will stop at nothing to insist on quantitative analysis. It’s rather twisted. Instead of applying statistics negatively, they use them positively. They award the success of the Broncos to the defense based upon their statistics. (I am in no way denying that Denver’s defense has been nothing short of brilliant). The point I am trying to make is that no one takes it seriously when the senior leaders of the Denver defense have said with their own mouths that Tim Tebow inspires them. Why? because that’s a qualitative assessment and that’s not real. Remember, we’ve fallen prey to the illusion that only quantifiable statistics are real. Statistics are here positively manipulated against Tebow: the Broncos success is reduced to their defensive statics, not the whole of the team. Now the defense has been reduced.
Now on to more practical matters that further relate to our discussion. I heard a commentator recently say something like, “let’s see how Tebow holds up when he’s hit 20 times a game?” What does he mean by this? Running backs typically get hit on every play of the game and no one is worried about Adrian Peterson getting hit. What the commentator is assuming is that QB’s can’t get hit because they aren’t tough enough. When did that happen? It is true that today QB’s are thought of as fragile, and most are in fact more fragile, because the game has evolved. Nowadays, it’s a financial risk to pay a QB that much money and have him run the ball. All of this contributes to the reduction of the QB to his ability to throw the ball accurately. This is nowhere more obvious than in the case of Tim Tebow. Why?, because if most other quantifiable categories (turnovers, yards per carry, wins, touchdown to int. ratio, etc.) were considered, as it stands today, Tebow would be considered amongst the elite QBs in the league. Is Tebow getting hit really an issue, just because it’s an issue for others?
All if this alludes to the fact that the definition of a “good” QB (as I have cited pejoratively) is also driven by the evolution of the game towards a passing style offense (i.e. the “west coast” offense). In this scheme, the QB’s throwing ability increasingly defines him; he becomes the most important player on the team, and is therefore paid the most. We find ourselves urging QB’s not run the ball, and every year there seems to be more and more rules installed to “protect” him. The success and failures of a team revolves more around the QB than ever before (the demise of the Colts following their loss of Manning is a quintessential example). No one today believes a team can win a Super Bowl with a mediocre QB, (even after the Ravens did so).
Lastly I ask, what are the qualities that make a QB successful? Let’s again use Peyton Manning as an exemplar. Leadership, passion, determination, a knack for unifying people, hope, honor, character, pride, humility, composure, level-headedness, drive, consideration of others, encouragement, decisive decision making etc. No one would argue that Peyton Manning is among the greatest QBs to ever play the game. These same qualities could be attributed to Tim Tebow.
What if we’re all in Plato’s cave, watching the images of a “successful quarterback.” What if Tim Tebow is leading us to see that the way we’ve always seen things is only a shadow of a better more complete player; a whole player.
But it’s even more than that. He forces us to examine what we are as a whole, that we are not defined by how much we make, or our profession, but who we are in the deepest parts of our being. He has caused all of us to look at the things that we assume when we measure ourselves and others. He begs the question to us all, what defines you? What makes you successful? If you look deep enough I think you’ll find that it’s not quantifiable.
Tim Tebow is changing our ways of thinking just like the Man he follows has been doing for over 2000 years.
2 comments
Do you want to comment?
Comments RSS and TrackBack URI
Trackbacks