The Faux Controversy of the Tebow Ad

Tim Tebow will make his first appearance at the Super Bowl and it will come even before he's officially a part of the NFL. Some are none too happy abouthis appearance.

College football phenom Tim Tebow is about to become one of the biggest stars of Super Bowl XLIV — and he's not even playing in the game.

Tebow, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the University of Florida, and his mother Pam will appear in a pro-life commercial that tells the story of his risky birth 22 years ago -- an ad that critics suggest could lead to anti-abortion violence,
even though none of them have seen it.

To put this controversy into perspective, we all need to know that no one besides the execs at CBS have actually seen the commercial. In other words, some are protesting the ad and demanding that it be dropped even though they don't necessarily know the tenor of the ad.

The tenor appears to be the story of how Tim Tebow was born. His mom was in the Phillipines and her pregnancy became complicated. Doctors suggested she abort because the pregnancy was threatening her health. She refused and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, I can't seem to find what anyone could find objectionable about that. Yet, there are women's groups that are clamouring. One of them showed up on the Factor last night. The problem for this representative of a Women's group wasn't the ad itself, which she hadn't seen, but the group sponsoring the ad, Focus on the Family. In fact, here's what Ms. Green, President of the Women's Media Center, said.

This organization is extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un-American agenda,

(Green was referring to Focus on the Family)
That's what's really happening. The ad itself isn't the problem. Who would have a problem with the story of a mother that risks her own life to bring her child to birth. In fact, the problem is with Focus on the Family which is staunchly pro life. Their opponents fear that the Super Bowl is too large a platform for such a group. The message in this ad is one everyone should embrace. Yet, some aren't because the implication of that message is one that has significance in a very polarizing subject. That's what opponents really have a problem with. As such, they've created a controversy where there isn't one.