By: Zach West

As the spring semester gets into full swing, the weather is getting bitter and tank tops, shorts and flip-flops are replaced by hoodies, sweatpants and Ugg boots.

And just like the nice weather, the NFL football season is coming to a drastic close. In a season full of record-breaking quarterback play, none has made more of a splash than Tim Tebow.

As a loyal ESPN watcher, no quarterback in the NFL has made more news since week six than Tebow. After putting up an 8-5 record as a starting quarterback for a team that was 1-4 before his first start, winning the AFC West and winning a playoff game, many could say that he has proved himself worthy of being able to play the position. That issue is still up for debate.

Even more than on-the-field plays, stats, wins, touchdowns, interceptions, etc., the fact that Tebow is an outspoken Christian has brought up much controversy. On the field after a touchdown or a win or before a game, Tebow very famously and predictably goes to one knee, bows his head and says a prayer. This novelty has become a pop culture phenomenon known as “Tebowing.”

Many in the public eye have said that Tebow should “tone it down.”  Kurt Warner, a former quarterback in the NFL as well as an outspoken Christian, was recently on record saying Tebow should tone it down because it “’makes walls go up between people,” according to the Denver Post.

I say nay. The ridiculousness that goes on concerning touchdown celebrations and post-game interviews sometimes becomes the center of attention, and not on the game. If a player can nickname himself T-Sizzle and claim he attended “Ball So Hard University” on national television, there is no need for Tebow to “tone it down” from saying, “First I’d like the thank Jesus Christ, my lord and savior”  before starting a press conference.

Is it cliché for a player to thank Jesus Christ in front of cameras? Maybe.  But to say that Tebow is just another cliché player is even more ridiculous than naming oneself T-Sizzle.

Tebow was born in the Philippines while his parents were missionaries. He goes back every year to spread the word of Jesus Christ along with visiting prisons and spending time with young fans there. His foundation, the Tim Tebow Foundation, will partner with Cure International to build a $3 million children’s hospital in the Philippines.

Tim Tebow does a lot of good for a lot of people, not only in the NFL, but around the world; to say he should tone it down or call him just another cliché player in respect to thanking God on camera is just disrespecting the concept of passion.