In our world, lots of things come with implied warranties of intended use and purpose, which are essentially simple, common-sense expectations of consumer products and services, e.g. a hair dryer will dry hair, a lawn mower will cut grass, etc.
You could apply the same concept to the field of entertainment. As consumers, we have a reasonable expectation that a dancer will dance, a guitarist will play guitar, and basketball player will play some hoops.
An article in today's Dispatch discussed the polarizing effect of Tim Tebow and his very public displays of religious "faith". A sportswriter who knows Tebow said this:
"He uses this stage to espouse his faith in the hopes he can impact others. This is his ministry."
His ministry? This pisses me off and always has. This is where Timmy voids the implied warranty of being an NFL football player. When he and other Christian soldiers like him morph into "ministers", it's a hijacking of our intended use and purpose. When I tune into the NFL, whether it's pre-game, post-game, or mid-game, I expect football. I do not expect or want a seminar on real estate, a time-share tour, or a prayer meeting.
Buster would venture to say that the single most famous, most influential American athlete of all time is Babe Ruth. Still to this day, just about everybody knows a little something about the Bambino -- baseball player, New York Yankee, big home-run hitter, beer drinker, hotdog eater, etc. Was Babe Ruth a man of "faith"? Was he religious? We don't know, and he didn't say. And that's the way it should be. Tebow could take a lesson
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