Tim Tebow on Home Free

Posted on June 16, 2016 at 8:00 am

Tim Tebow takes over hosting duties on the second season of “Home Free,” a reality show that invites contestants to build homes for their heroes. The season premiere is tonight, June 16, 2016, at 9:00 on Fox.

In a roundtable interview with journalists, Tebow talked about why he loves doing the show: “Everybody walks away a winner. They can make a dream come true for their hero. The man who picked him up and carried a soldier to safety, the woman who gave his father her kidney — we get to see how the contestants have the chance to make a difference in the lives of their heroes….People are going to see the biggest build show they’ve ever seen,. It’s a competition, there’s a fair share of drama, and it shows how it can be cool to love and sacrifice for other people. It is more blessed to give than to receive and that really shows every week in this show.” He said that it is a change from the usual competition. “Today is so much about me me me and how can I get mine.” But this show “is coming from the place of wanting to help other people and trying to make a difference…Sometimes as little as a hug and sometimes as big as a home, showing that appreciation and gratitude.”

He said he got “super close” with the contestants and the crew and it was “fun to build those relationships.” He enjoyed working with contractor Mike Holmes, the building expert, especially teasing him the overalls Tebow called his “fancy onesie.” “He’s got a super soft heart and loves helping people — he probably won’t like me saying but you might even see him once or twice.” And he was moved and inspired by the contestants. “They put pause on their life to be able to do this, To understand the why behind it all was really cool. And to see some of them grow, believe in themselves, find their confidence, overcome obstacles.”

“There are so many heroes walking around us unnoticed. This show thanks them. We have heroes every single day and it’s important to say thank you.”

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The Battle Over Super Bowl Ads

Posted on January 30, 2010 at 1:48 pm

On February 7, the Saints will take on the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. And the ads are as high-profile as the game. Companies and groups must pay CBS more than $2 million in addition to the cost of producing the ad, which can be as much per-minute as a feature film.
A lot of people want to reach the Super Bowl audience and some want to sell ideas, not products. CBS, which has refused some “advocacy” ads in the past, this year has said they will permit those that are “responsibly produced.” They have already been criticized for agreeing to run an ad from Focus on the Family that features college football player Tim Tebow and his mother. She explains that though she was advised to get an abortion after she became ill, she continued the pregnancy and gave birth to Tebow. The Women’s Media Center and a group of organizations dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice have protested.
CBS is also getting complaints about what it is not showing. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has called on CBS to explain why it is refusing to run an ad for a gay dating site called Mancrunch during the Super Bowl. CBS issued a statement but did not explain their concerns: “After reviewing the ad — which is entirely commercial in nature — our Standards and Practices department decided not to accept this particular spot. As always, we are open to working with the client on alternative submissions.”
The Washington Post has a thoughtful op-ed by Frances Kissling, the former president of Catholics for Choice and Kate Michelman, former president of Naral Pro-Choice America, on “what Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl ad can teach the pro-choice movement.”

For abortion rights supporters, picking on Tim Tebow and his mom is not the way to go. Instead of trying to block or criticize the Focus on the Family ad, the pro-choice movement needs its own Super Bowl strategy….We’d go with a 30-second spot, too. The camera focuses on one woman after another, posed in the situations of daily life: rushing out the door in the morning for work, flipping through a magazine, washing dishes, teaching a class of sixth-graders, wheeling a baby stroller. Each woman looks calmly into the camera and describes her different and successful choice: having a baby and giving it up for adoption, having an abortion, having a baby and raising it lovingly. Each one being clear that making choices isn’t easy, but that life without tough choices doesn’t exist.

I think CBS should be open to “responsibly produced” advocacy ads on any issue of public concern. I doubt that the Focus on the Family will change anyone’s mind, and I support the right of Tenbow and his mother to tell their story and explain their views. I can imagine gay dating site ads that would and would not be appropriate. And I share the concerns of parents who are uncomfortable with the ads for ED and prostate medication, sexual pleasure aids and other highly personal items during telecasts of sporting events. What do you think?