By Jackson DeMos
Three USC Annenberg experts discussed the "Tim Tebow phenomenon" during an NFL Network Super Bowl XLVI pre-game show.
"When the Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the playoff game, he set a record for 9,420 tweets per second right at that moment, which is the biggest amount Twitter has ever had for an American-led event," said Adam Amel Rogers of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center. Rogers earlier posted a blog entry that stated few public figures exemplify the Lear Center's work more than Tebow.
Communication professors Christopher Holmes Smith and Dan Durbin — director of the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media & Society — also weighed in on Tebow's meteoric rise in popularity this NFL season.
"The social media phenomenon that surrounds Tim Tebow speaks volumes about why it's unprecedented," Smith said. "Even if you didn't want to pay attention to the Tim Tebow saga, there was no choice."
Durbin said the Tebow story takes on proportions that others in history could not take on because of the proliferation of media today.
"It'll have to evolve into another form," Durbin said about the current framing of the Tebow story. "Either the form of somebody who has sustained success, or develops another career in media, or the story of somebody who fails."
Smith said Tebow's religion fuels both those who want to see him fail and those who adore him.
"There's a large faction that — in the nature of reality TV show programming — wanted the 'William Hung' moment," Smith said in reference to the "American Idol" singer who became famous for his off-key singing. "They wanted the person to fall on their face glaringly and entertain them."
Rogers said the Tebow phenomenon occurred because it is the perfect storm of different elements of society coming together, including religion, entertainment and politics.
"A movie about Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, that's not that interesting," Rogers said. "They complete all of their passes and win all the time. Where is the conflict, where is the drama? I think you can't reach or attain that level of fame without people who love you and people who hate you in almost equal measure."
Added Rogers: "We were looking for a hero. This country needs leadership right now, and he's the type of person who can provide that."
The USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media & Society, which Durbin directs, will soon hold an event that analyzes sports in a larger context. It is hosting "USC Conference on Sports: The Olympics" Feb. 15-16 and "The State of the Games: A Discussion with IOC President Jacques Rogge" on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
