Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization that places emphasis on marriage and parenthood, has purchased an ad spot featuring Tim Tebow that will air on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 7th and some say the ad\u2019s message is bound to spark controversy.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press reported this week that the ad\u2019s theme will be \u201cCelebrate Family, Celebrate Life,\u201d with Pam Tebow sharing the story of her difficult 1987 pregnancy — instead of getting an abortion she decided to give birth to Tebow, the now-famous quarterback who went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner, leading the Gators to two BCS wins.<\/p>\n
Gary Schneeberger, Focus on the Family spokesman, told ABC News he couldn\u2019t comment on the content of the ad. However, he said his organization has always viewed the Tebows as \u201cstrong, committed Christians\u201d who have inspirational family stories to tell.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed like a natural partnership, and we were fortunate enough that they agreed,\u201d Schneeberger said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we explained what we were hoping to accomplish, a strong handful of committed friends provided funding for the airtime,\u201d Schneeberger said. He said he has seen the ad, and he would not label it as political or controversial.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to create awareness for who we are as a family-help ministry and help folks who are watching come to us if they\u2019re struggling in their marriage or struggling raising their children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big coming-out party for Tim Tebow in terms of moving from athletic superstar to the political realm,\u201d said Daniel Smith, UF associate professor of political science and faculty adviser to Gators for Choice.<\/p>\n
Once the ad airs on national television, it might cause some interesting discussions on college campuses while also rallying the pro-choice community, Smith added. The commercial’s content might also have an effect on Tebow\u2019s fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you are an athlete and you put yourself out in the public sphere when it comes to politics, you have a good chance of alienating half your fan support,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Camille Jacobs, a UF junior and member of Campus Crusade for Christ, said she was excited to hear that Tebow has this opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just standing up for what he believes in,\u201d Jacobs said, \u201cand no matter what you believe in, it\u2019s going to be controversial.\u201d<\/p>\n
ABC News contributed to this story<\/p>\n
Related searches: Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization that places emphasis on marriage and parenthood, has purchased an ad spot featuring Tim Tebow that will air on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 7th and some say the ad\u2019s message is bound to spark controversy. The Associated Press reported this week that the ad\u2019s theme will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[852,9,4],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-16509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-athletes","category-football-news","category-sports-speaker-news","tag-football-speakers"],"yoast_head":"\n
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