Focus on the Family has
succeeded in purchasing a 30-second ad for the Super Bowl
broadcast that will feature Tim Tebow and his mother Pam Tebow
recounting her pregnancy with him in a pro-life inspirational
message.
Tim Tebow, of course, just finished his career as a quarterback
for the Florida Gators, a career in which he won two national
titles and became the first sophomore to win the Heisman trophy.
He is an outspoken Christian known for wearing bible verses on
his eyeblack, a former homeschooler, and a missionary during
summers. When pregnant with him in 1987, Pam
got sick during a missionary trip to the Philippines, and
suffered a placental abruption. Her doctor, thinking that the
baby would be stillborn, recommended that she have an abortion to
protect her own health. Obviously she disregarded that
recommendation, and today Tim is 6'3", 240 lbs.
Pro-life groups like Focus on the Family have been trying to get
ads in major broadcasts like the Super Bowl and the American Idol
finale for a long time. For instance, CatholicVote unsuccessfully
attempted to get a similar
video about Barack Obama's mother's decision to raise him
into the 2009 Super Bowl.
It's hard to overstate Tebow's stature in the college football
world, but one indication is that, according to the Davie-Brown
Index, he is already more marketable than any NFL quarterback
other than Peyton Manning. To have such a popular and universally
liked star promoting their pro-life message is a major win for
Focus on the Family, assuming that NBC CBS follows
through and actually airs the ad on Feb. 7th.
The pro-choice camp never wanted to see NBC allow any message
like this to air on such a huge TV event, understanding that such
a story can't help but lend emotional tones to the pro-life
message. Don't be surprised to see pro-choicers suddenly worried
that Tebow is destroying his commercial appeal with a divisive ad
(i.e. showing character) or even grumbling that Pam Tebow's
decision not to abort Tim was based in "invalid" logic (really).
