For years athletes in all sports have been thanking whatever higher power they believe in, their Moms or their coaches, etc. for leading them in the right direction, keeping them safe, or helping them on the road to reaching their potential. For those who believe, teams have been praying for years for God (or their personal higher power) to protect them from injury. I really don't see any difference between the pointing to the heavens and a genuflection or dropping on one knee. I don't see why what Tebow is doing is any different, or at all objectionable.
It doesn't seem to me that Tebow (or anyone else) has forced anyone else to do the same. It does seem to me that they have every right to do what they are doing. The United States has always tolerated individual statements of principles and beliefs of all kinds.
I believe it was during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico that the athletes on the medal podiums gave a raised fist salute to honor Black pride and solidarity. A lot of people didn't understand it, or like it, but I don't remember that there were ever any sanctions against it.
Tboots I think everything you said there is true, but I don't think anyone is really contesting it, and I don't think its what the real 'talk' around Tebow is.
1) Tim Tebow is a devout Christian, who makes no apologies or excuses for his faith, and shouts his belief from the mountain-tops, literally. (cuz Denver is way above sea-level)
2) Tim Tebow is a quarterback that has a lot more in common with Sammy Baugh than he does with Sam Bradford (if you followed fooseball it would make sense, basically it means he's not a traditional QB in the modern era). His skillset defies what conventional wisdom tells you makes a winning quarterback.
3) If you took the last what...4 years as a continuous line, Tim Tebow is also the most consistent winner in football right now among QB's. 2 national championships, a heisman, 2 all-americans, a manning, and a record of 7-4 as a full-time starter in his second season, with one playoff victory under his belt.
4) He also seems like a really decent human being, who consistently gains the faith and loyalty of his teammates and coaches alike, along with inspiring a near-rabid level of devotion from his fans
So he's a weird player, with a rare relation to God (for our time. There aren't many athletes who have a faith that looks like Tim Tebow's, from a fan's perspective), that keeps defying conventional wisdom by winning, with hoard of rabid fans.
He's unique and loud, and I think that's why there is so much fuss over him.