Tim Tebow Doesn’t Comment on Pro-Life Super Bowl Commercial at Daytona 500
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 11, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — College football superstar Tom Tebow talked to drivers and checked out race cars at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday. But the new pro-life luminary declined the opportunity to answer questions about the Super Bowl commercial on his mom’s abortion refusal that received national attention.
Tebow signed autographs and posed for pictures but mostly avoided taking any questions from the press.
He officially declined an opportunity to address the gathered media in the media center because he didn’t want to talk about the Focus on the Family commercial he appeared in or his future in the NFL.
However, in a brief exchange with reported in the NASCAR garage, he did joke that he hoped his "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines" line would garner less criticism.
His appearance was part of his duties as grand marshal for the event.
Focus on the Family officials say they received considerable traffic on their web site by people following up from the ad and watching a longer video with the Tebow family that is much more explicit in terms of the conversation about Pam Tebow’s decision to not have an abortion during a crisis pregnancy situation.
The Focus web site logged 500,000 hits and 50,000 unique visitors just during the hour the Super Bowl ad aired. Traffic was also up considerably during the pre-game show when a different version of the commercial aired.
"Our traffic jumped to 40 times its normal volume," Focus spokeswoman Monica Schleicher said, according to the Denver Post. "In the hour during the pre-game (broadcast), when the other ad aired twice, our Web traffic was 20 times our normal volume." https://www.lifenews.com/nat5981.html
Two polls have found Americans strongly support the pro-life commercial.
A Marist Poll published this past week showed 60 percent of Americans agreed with CBS’ decision to air the ad while just 30 percent said no and 10 percent were undecided.
And a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of Americans who plan to watch Super Bowl XLIV agree with CBS’ decision to run a pro-life advertisement featuring Tebow during today’s game.
Another 30 percent disagree with the decision to run the ad prepared by Focus on the Family and another 25 percent are unsure.
Focus on the family has prepared two ads — one version airing before the Super Bowl and one during the game — which tell the story of Tim Tebow’s birth. His mother, Pam Tebow, was advised by a doctor to consider an abortion because she was taking heavy medication after suffering from dysentery during a missions trip to the Philippines.
Pam Tebow refused and Tebow went on to become the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who led the Florida Gators to become the NCAA college football national champions.
However, pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood, NARAL and NOW attacked the ad and generated considerable controversy and attention for it.
The Rasmussen poll found that 49% of Super Bowl watchers say they have followed news stories about the ad at least somewhat closely. But 50% say they haven’t followed the news about it closely, if at all.
Super Bowl viewers 30 to 49 are much more supportive of CBS allowing the commercial to than those in any other age group, according to Rasmussen; but, the Marist poll found younger Americans were the most supportive.
Related web sites:
Support Tebow’s Super Bowl Ad – https://www.facebook.com/TebowSuperBowlAd
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