In Search of an Icon

As I watched Tim Tebow respond to reporters questions with ultimate class and sincerity after losing the SEC Championship to Alabama...I'm reminded of the deep human need to have a hero. I'm not a Florida fan, in any manner, Tebow is a good player and I appreciate his morals, however I have never understood the Tebow love shown by both fans and commentators. Tonight...for the first time I did.

It is human nature to always look for a hero. Sort of like how as children we would play with action figures, or dress up like super heros for halloween. We crave an idol, perhaps it gives us a sense of security, perhaps it gives us hope, perhaps it simply helps us believe that anything is possible. In this often dark world we live in, we need a Hercules to lift us up.

Unfortunately it seems the human idols of our world are slowly disappearing. Some may think this is a positive, since in this world of the 24 hour news cycle, everyone and everything is exposed. Perhaps. Perhaps it is a plus that people can't hide behind facades anymore and are eventually shown to be what they are, imperfect, flawed, human. But in reality what do we, as a struggling civilization, need the most...to know that Tiger Woods had affairs with numerous woman, or to be able to see him as a sort of super hero of our time. What helps us more? The truth or the hope? It is a hard line to draw.

Tebow is as loved as he is because he still maintains an aura of goodness around him. He is skilled, gracious and morally grounded....or at least that is what it seems for now. I hope he is able to maintain his stellar reputation, I hope more like him are able to rise up.

Humans need a hero. Each time one falls, so does our own sense of possibility and value.

“We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look. ”

- Ronald Reagan