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Abstract
As one of the most widely covered athletes of recent years, Tim Tebow is both beloved and resented. In this essay, I critique sports media coverage of Tebow to demonstrate how tragic framing constitutes this opposition. By emphasizing his character both as a football leader and a Christian missionary, sports media frame Tebow in transcendental terms, the consequence of which is a discourse of absolutism and symbolic division. What is required, therefore, is a turn to Kenneth Burke's notion of the comic frame, a position of humility that is well-suited to the agonistic ethos of commercial sport.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Todd McDorman and his Rhetoric of Sport students at Wabash College, Raymond Schuck, Ronald Jackson, Kent Ono, and the anonymous reviewers for their feedback in the development of this manuscript.
Notes
1. Favre is the recently retired NFL quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers. While he was inarguably an elite talent, Favre became something of a mythic figure for his durability and enthusiasm for the game.
2. On August 4, 2010, I contacted ESPN directly to ask if Tim Tebow: The Chosen One could be purchased. I received an email from “ESPN Viewer Response,” stating, “ESPN, Inc. does not release or sell copies of its programming or promos.” Nevertheless, the documentary is available on YouTube in five segments, beginning at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HOUMIgfhJA.