Tebowmania: Fandom as Religion ABSTRACT

Tebowmania: Fandom as Religion Cult of Personality? --NFL quarterback, age 25 --Considered the/one of the greatest college football players in history --2007 Heisman Trophy winner (first sophomore to win) --BCS National Championships with University of Florida, 2007 and 2009 --Evangelical Christian; appearances at “mega-churches” --Known for charity and missionary work, also preaches in prisons --“Miracle” birth story (mother refused abortion); 2010 Super Bow ad --Wore eye black with Bible verses painted on them (later banned by NCAA) --Drafted by Denver Broncos in 2010; billboard campaign to start him in 2011 --Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes (2011), NYT bestseller --“Tebow Time” refers to his ability to make last-minute clutch plays --To “Tebow” or to get “Tebowed” = verbs (Metcalf, 2011) --“Tebowing” phenomenon (tebowing.com) --Example of “muscular Christianity” (O’Neil, 2013)

Tebowmania Overdrive --In 2011, Broncos start Tebow at QB (they win: “miracle in Miami”) --Last-minute comebacks; six straight wins (is God helping?) --Broncos/Steelers playoff game in overtime (“John 3:16”) --Top-selling NFL jersey; action figures; high marketability

Tebowmania Ends (?) --Traded to Jets in 2012 when Broncos acquire Peyton Manning --Languishes at Jets until “freed,” April 29, 2013 --Signs with New England Patriots, June 11, 2013

Media Coverage --Called “mediocre,” “boring,” “unconventional,” “polarizing,” “phony,” “terrible” (by anonymous Jets teammates) --ESPN criticized for unrelenting coverage, with commentator Skip Bayless Tebow’s most vocal defender --In 2012, ABC News reports Tebow is “most popular pro-athlete in America”; #1 on Forbes’ list in 2013 --Common news themes: Tebow, religion, and race; not NFL material; Tebow fans as detriment to his career --Media coverage sets up Tebow within “tragic frame,” so that failure will be “spectacular” (Butterworth, 2013) --Recent news angle: effect of Tebow on evangelicals in New England in Time (Gregory, 2013)

Fandom and Anti-Fandom --Football as “civil religion,” especially college football in the South (Givens-Carroll & Slade, 2012) --Tebow further complicates this: expression of “religion” religion + civil religion + (press) mania + status as icon --Christians, Evangelical Christians, non-Christians, University of Florida alumni and fans, NFL team fans, media --Web sites: “I Support Tim Tebow,” “Tim Tebow Fan Forum,” “TimTeBlog,” tebowfans.org (outdated) --Facebook: Tim Tebow (2 million followers), Tim Tebow Believers, Tim Tebow Fan Club, Free Tebow Now, Jews for Tebow --Anti-fans: I Hate Tim Tebow, Tebow Haters, variations on “Tebow” + “sucks” + “!”

Research Paths --Online Tebow fan communities/profile --Anti-fan sentiment (Theodoropoulou, 2007) --Stigma of fandom (Jindra, 1994) --Women: “Hot” and “safe” (Phippen, 2011) --Men: “Bromance,” “man crush” --Tebow as evangelical media, similar to other commodities (Hendershot, 2004) --Celebrity worship as religion References on reverse

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