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Home schooled?
Interesting take.  Not sure I can see that as the motivating factor for so many different people from so many different walks of life.  No doubt Tebow is a touchstone.  Peoples comments about him tell us far more about them than what they are trying to say about Tebow.
 
In that vein and in the interest of full disclosure let me say I am a born again Christian.  I like Tebow the man and dislike his game. Give me a drop back passing machine any day.  I think Tebows success is not divine, it's entirely explainable and can be broken down fairly simply. (I might just take a stab at that in a different reply.)
 
So with that out of the way I do agree that we are in a massive culture war.  And like most wars there are leaders and planers, the generals so to speak. On that level, absolutley, Tebow is a threat as a home school product.  But that doesn't explain the visceral reactions you see in the small town beat reporter or the yokel with a blog.  The type of guy who would scoff at the mere idea that there even is such a thing as a culture war.  I don't even see most of the former player, analysts on the cable chanels to be "in" on the culture war.  They are more along the lines of what Lenin called the useful idiots.  In some of these people, what I've seen in the eyes and on the face when talking about Tebow I can only call rage.
You correctly pointed out that sports are filled with athletes who cross themselves before an at bat or kneel in the corner of the ring before the bell.  Those guys aren't hated because nobody really believes them.  The reporters with locker room access know better.  They hear the guys profanity laced tirade after a loss.  They hear him crowing about his "ho's".  They see the mistress slinking around out back.  They see the little baggy he's trying to hide in the back of his locker.  They know the strip joints he can be found at on the night before. Or maybe it's as little as seeing insanely selfish spending.  There's always something that can easily discount the pious behavior.  And in the internet age, EVERYONE is privy to the inside dope, the gossip and the rumors.
 
The religous statements and actions are written off as rituals at best and self serving at worst.  The eyes roll and life goes on without further comment.
 
Tebow, however, is walking the walk.  He has made it his entire identity and he can't be written off as a faker or hypocrite.  There are no drugs, no bimbos, no profane meltdowns.  Everyone knows he "blew" his signing bonus on charity.  Everybody knows he gave his playoff check to a foreign hospital.  People have to come to terms with the fact that he really is that righteous of a man. 
 
[edited by permission]