BCS National Championship Game: FOX Praises Tim Tebow for Taunting Sooners

As long as the media is turning today into the official Tim Tebow Hagiography Day, we ought to at least acknowledge that this was a bush league move:

That was Tebow doing the Gator Chomp directly in the face of Sooners safety Nick Harris after Tebow picked up a first down late in the fourth quarter. It was a clear violation of college football rules, and the officials correctly penalized him for it.

The FOX announcers, who absolutely embarrassed themselves with the way they worshiped at the Tebow altar, were just as ridiculous as you'd expect them to be. Thom Brennaman said, "That might be the first thing he's ever done wrong in his life."

Brennaman's partner, Charles Davis, was even worse: He tried to excuse Tebow's behavior by saying, "he was backing away, which is good." Uh, no. Tebow had purposefully walked several yards downfield to get right into Harris' face before he did the Gator Chomp. He only started backing away when he was sure Harris had seen what he was doing. Last time I checked, getting in someone's face to taunt him, only to back away before he has a chance to respond, isn't "good."

Is this a big deal? No. Taunting goes on in every game. But it's absurd that the FOX announcers responded to a player committing a penalty -- a stupid, unsportsmanlike penalty that stopped the clock just when the Gators were trying to run it out -- by showering praise upon him.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

1-09-2009 @ 11:05AM

DP said...

I'm not a Gator fan or OU fan, but apparently Tebow felt it was necessary. I for one thought it was funny. If you're going to rag on Tebow and Fox, then how about knocking on OU??? Obviously some OU players were jawing at Tebow or Tebow would not have responded that way. I'm pretty sure if the officials could penalize a team for trash-talking then OU would have received a penalty as well.

1-09-2009 @ 2:02PM

Jack Lubin said...

Good for you!

1-09-2009 @ 11:22AM

GrumpyOldMan said...

Now that this college football crap is out of the way....let's all move on to some real football. The N F L.

1-09-2009 @ 11:46AM

Riggs said...

I agree with DP. Pretty sure Tebow was reacting to some jawing by the OU Defense which at that point in the game were surely frustrated. I'm assuming some curse words were flying and Tebow responded with a Chomp at which point the game was over anyway.

And MDS... if you're going to rip Tebow for the "Chomp" - how about ripping the OU defender who tried to rip Harvin's ankles off - knowing exactly what he was doing.

Now - how come no mention here - that the officials completely missed the unsportsmanlike call there.

Just a thought - keep it fair man.

Bottom line: Fox was way overboard with the Tebow love. I'm pretty sure Tim himself would have been embarassed.

1-09-2009 @ 11:48AM

rick said...

Why does Bob Stoops eat his cereal out of a plate? Because if he put it in a bowl he would lose it. Zero U strikes again. Go SEC.

1-09-2009 @ 8:23PM

Melissa said...

"Bottom line: Fox was way overboard with the Tebow love. I'm pretty sure Tim himself would have been embarassed."

Don't be so sure of yourself... check out what the AP had to say about the Annointed One:

"Tebow, naturally, came out charged up. He got off the team bus, walked over to a clutch of Florida fans, waved his arms and then ripped off his tie and threw it into a bunch of tailgaters -- tail-Gators, in this case."

Ripped off his tie and threw it into a bunch of tailgaters???? And you think he would be embarassed? I believe Tebow is just as in love with himself as Fox is. I don't care what good deeds Tebow has perfomed. If you're sincere in your deeds, you don't have to put them on display. This kiddo needs to learn some humility.

1-09-2009 @ 12:14PM

Martin said...

I agree completely with Riggs. Although the announcers did go overboard in their praise of Tebow, its good for sports in general when announcers spend time talking about those athletes that do positive things off the field, rather than merely concentrating on the ones who don't like Plaxico Burress and Pac man. From his posts, it appears that there are two things that MDS really detests in this world. One is FOX (the no spin zone) and the other is anyone who dares to stand up for his religious beliefs.

1-09-2009 @ 12:25PM

T said...

#4.....MDS is Time Warner/AOL..so ya know....

1-09-2009 @ 12:31PM

rob said...

Ofcourse they praised him. If they didnt praise the amazing Christian Saint Tim they mightve had the religious right criticizing them ..the announcers were sooooo partial and soooooo sickening..i wasnt sure if i was watching a football game or a revival meeting.

1-09-2009 @ 8:13PM

dave said...

Good grief Rob,
Get a clue or at least a perspective. Tebow led his team back from a defeat earlier in the season as he said he would. He said he would work hard and put himself in the front line for any attack or for someone to stop him. It was good leadership and sorely needed in the ever increasing whinny world of sports where entitled kids and arm chair quarterbacks continually make a mockery of guys working hard and accomplishing something.

skweez said...

really...? people actually listen to pre/post-game and halftime commentators... those guys are more than just spin? Wow! I better start listening in then ....

1-09-2009 @ 1:08PM

roberto said...

Forget about the thing Fox has for Tebow, their entire handling of the BCS has been awful more ill-informed than fun. I'll take Herbstreet, Corso and the rest of the normal college team any day of the week. ABC/ESPN how could you let Fox outbid you?

1-09-2009 @ 2:08PM

patdolan said...

In a game where a wide receiver was given an excessive celebration penalty for signaling a first down after making one, Tebow's histrionics could have been flagged more than once. (Let's be clear here, I don't think any of the celebration penalties should have been called. Taunting another player is different.)

Sure people run their mouths, but there's a qualitative difference between doing that and doing it for the crowd and the television audience.

And yes, a player that tries to hurt another player should be flagged, and possibly ejected. My take is that the crew missed it, or didn't see intent to injure. I disagree, but then they probably missed a bunch of holding calls, right?

1-09-2009 @ 1:38PM

Rob said...

Wow you rag on Tebow for the gator chomp yet no one says anything about the two horsecollar tackles blantantly out there and as mentioned here before the pulling of Harvins ankles. You cannot justify that. They knew he was hurt and they purposely tried to hurt him again. Another thing is the bad spotting all game. It was just a dirty sloppy long game. but UF prevails yet again.

1-09-2009 @ 1:55PM

jacks said...

Ok lets see, college football is the best sport ever, the NFL is a close second, but college football is the king.

Second, Fox is going to play up the stars in the game, Peyton Manning gets played up, his brother Eli, McNabb, etc. etc., Thats the way the networks do their coverage. However i do agree, ABC, Herbstreet, Corso and the gang, are the best!

Third, hats off to the SEC, three National Championships in a row, wow, only two other confs. have ever done that. So atleast at this time, their is no doubt that the best conf. in the country is the SEC.

Last but not least, and maybe most importantly, college presidents, take note. WE NEED A PLAYOFFS SYSTEM! This would make the USC, Texas, Utah, and any other teams that feel they have the right to play in the championship game happy. As well as most of college football fans.

Til next time....Later!

1-09-2009 @ 3:13PM

Nic said...

I may be mistaken, but didn't Tebow do that chomp only a play or two after an OU defender tried to intentionally harm Percy Harvin's injured ankle? Taunting is against the rules so the flag was valid; but morally isn't intentionally attempting to injure a player much worse than a gator chomp? I don’t think any of those players are so emotionally delicate that they were in danger of permanent psychological damage. But, that intentional attempted injury after the play could have crippled Harvin. I think Tebow was just upset that one of his guys was treated that way and wanted to show OU that he would protect his guys. Tebow is the leader of that team and feels responsible for what happens on the field.

1-09-2009 @ 3:40PM

TeriG8r said...

While I can't condone deliberate taunting, since Harris was the one who deliberately injured Harvin again (but couldn't keep him out of the game), I find myself perversely glad that Tebow chomped at him and said 'this one is for you'. The taunt deserved the penalty, but Harris deserved so much worse.

1-09-2009 @ 3:49PM

Tom said...

Why does everyone think Tebow is so saintly?

It HAD to be OU that goaded him into the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty? Show me some proof. The anointed Tebow never mouths off? (Well, Brennaman and Davis think so).

How do you know that OU caused it? There was no penalty against them.

Tebow also committed another 15-yard penalty, after his first, that was not called. After they scored, he was still on the playing field screaming/cheering his teammates....or possibly taunting OU players....

This would have caused a flag to be thrown on every other college player in the country....this screaming-taunting player 10 yards on the playing field.....but the referee politely asked him to go to the sideline.

Tebow is NOT the Messiah, no matter what Fox Sports says. There has only been one person in life that has been perfect....and it's not Tim.

1-09-2009 @ 4:52PM

Dave said...

Let's see, Tebow is twenty-one and he has a Heisman trophy, two BCS championships,countless other awards,has made many missions to help the poor in foriegn countries and leader on and off the field.
What were you doing when you were twenty-one? I know what I was doing and it is not even close to what this man has accomplished in his young life. His strength is in his faith and his faith is his strength.
His John 3:16 is a heck of a lot more meaningful than the myriad of tatoos we see on pro athletes everyday promoting heroes such as " Superman".
He would be the first to say he is not perfect. But he sets a pretty good example for the young men and women to follow.

1-09-2009 @ 5:55PM

Jennifer said...

I think it is good he publicized his beliefs it shows that he has something besides his career, he only has his career because God gave him life the gift and talent. If it is ok for people to curse God on TV and take Gods name in vain so why isn't it ok for him to announce his beliefs in a fun positive way. There was nothing wrong with it. All the more power to him for doing it.

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