I think a few people might have gotten some misconceptions about me from my recent opinion article on Tim Tebow.

In the article, I compared Tebow to Paris Hilton, with the intention of getting the point across that the level of scrutiny in their coverage is relatively even.

People took that comparison at face value, calling me a Tebow-hater or questioning my reasoning for it.

With Tebow finally out of the spotlight, due to the Broncos being knocked out of the playoffs, now is as perfect a time as ever for me to clarify what I meant.

Strictly for all those in speculation, I love the person that Tebow is. I love his character, I love how hard he plays, I love how he ignores critics, and I love reading reports of what he does for sick and/or disabled children or families before and after games.

I think a man that is so honest and sincere about his religious beliefs that he doesn’t care if the world watches him pray is impressive. I could only hope to try and follow my beliefs the way he does, one day.

I think it’s unfair that because he chooses to do so, he becomes a martyr for Christianity. Even selfproclaimed Christians are proclaiming to be offended by his prayer displays during games.

I understand the belief that prayer is supposed to be reserved for private, as it is a personal conversation with God, but why don’t people get offended when people pray before meals at restaurants, or when other football players cross themselves before kicking field goals or after scoring touchdowns? If his public displays of religion are so offensive, why aren’t people offended by Catholic priests that wear vestments in public?

I guess my question is this, what makes it so uncomfortable for people when Tebow prays in public, during games? Is it the fact that millions of people are watching? Tebow can’t control that. He didn’t ask for people to watch his games. Is it his openness? I don’t know, and that’s where the subject agitates me.

I remember the first time I ever heard about Tebow.

I was watching some show on MTV about a prolific high school football program from Hoover, Alabama, that was a perennial state champion and practically a Division- 1 and NFL factory. In the first episode, the team flew to Florida to play Nease High School. Although Tebow was homeschooled, Florida law allows home-schooled students an opportunity to participate in athletics at public schools.

Tebow ran up and down the field on Hoover, really catching my attention. When I was in high school, I followed high school football very closely and this episode aired only a few months after I had graduated. I kept up with Tebow, watching him during the Army All- American game, and watching Florida as much as I could during his first year at the university. He stole the spotlight from Heisman contender Chris Leak that year, helping lead the team to a National Championship. All he did, after that, was continue to impress me, and he still is. Although he is not much of a pure passer, he has flashes of brilliance, and you can’t ask for much more from a quarterback in a rush-heavy system.

Tebow is a great kid, and in his first season as a starter, for the majority, he did some impressive things.

The fact of the matter is this: I wish people would leave his personal life and preferences out of the equation and judge him on his play. But when they do that, they’re still not fair.

For some reason, there are people who want Tebow to fail. He continues to prove them wrong.

(Kyle Harris is the news reporter for the Bullard Banner News. He can be reached at kharris3@ patriots.uttyler.edu)