14 January 2012 | Actually, I Like Tim Tebow

Here's the biggest irony about Tim Tebow: except for his salary, he's an average guy, and football fanatics, oblivious to their fundamentalist football religious beliefs, hate that.

Football heroes are supposed to be super cool, super tough, super everything. They aren't supposed to be true believers (unless of course, they're Muslim, in Salon.com's universe) with supernatural athletic abilities. Tim Tebow is average, maybe even mediocre. He does what he loves for a living, and millions of average Americans loathe it because, well, they aren't rewarded for their averageness or mediocrity.

Talk about jealous. Or at least having their priorities wrong when they tell their kids that "winning isn't everything" or there are more important things in life before calling a sports talk show line to vent about how much they hate the average quarterback from Denver.

America loves a winner, except when he's a mirror for people's own little failings.