What’s going on here?
Tim Tebow gets his first National Football League start for the Denver Broncos on Sunday (October 23). Tebow is one of the more beloved players in the league…and one of the more reviled players in the league. He is a former Heisman Trophy winner who brings a dual-threat mentality (beating defenses by throwing and also by running, generally thought to be a black specialty). He’s a devout Christian…and he’s white.
Quarterback is one of the few remaining positions still dominated by white players. The NFL has long been eager to promote a black quarterback as its figurehead and poster-boy. The league and the MainStream Media outlets that cover the sport (ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, NFL.com, etc.) have all been pushing Cam Newton as “the Great Black Hope” when it comes to quarterbacking. (Michael Vick had his chance, but he lost a lot of capital with the predominately white fan base when he was convicted of animal cruelty.)Never mind that Newton is 1-5 as a starter, while fellow rookie Andy Dalton (boring white guy) is 4-2 as a starter. The anointment of Newton as the heir apparent to media darling Peyton Manning was near completion.