So there’s a storm of controversy surrounding a Super Bowl ad starring Tim Tebow and his mother Pam Tebow. The ad illustrates how Pam ignored the advice of doctors, who feared she would die during labor, to terminate her pregnancy. Instead, she chose to have Tim.
Much has been said about why or why not the ad is appropriate for CBS to air during the Super Bowl. One of my favorite talking points against airing the ad comes from sportswriter Dave Zirin. In his NYDailyNews.com article “How Tebow’s ad corrupts the Super Bowl,” Zirin writes-
“The cultural power of the big game cannot be overstated, and that's exactly why CBS' decision to air an anti-abortion ad funded by Focus on the Family was so terribly wrongheaded.”
Yes, the shining beacon of American sports and culture - The Super Bowl. A pristine event full of wardrobe malfunctions, commercials objectifying women to sell products, teams whose players shoot themselves in the leg and are convicted of dog fighting, and maybe some more objectification and steroid use. The sanctity of professional football - unmarred by the fringes of our culture who believe in the inspirational story of how a woman’s decision to go through with her pregnancy led to the career of one of the greatest college football players and role models of our time.
Considering no one in the general public has even seen the 30-second spot yet, it’s interesting to see all the vehement opposition to the ad and their labeling of it as “anti-abortion.” From what has been reported, the ad asks people to choose life, not ban abortion.
The outrage comes from the fact that the ad’s storyline goes against the opposition's assumptions and narrative of reality. If the people who oppose the ad were genuinely pro-choice, they would celebrate this inspirational story of Pam’s choice and the hope that it brings to women everywhere. The tolerant pro-choice group who oppose the ad are showing their true colors and looking more like an intolerant pro-abortion group.
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