By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
ESPN's viewers apparently let them hear it loud and clear about the network's coverage of Tim Tebow.
The Tebow-heavy coverage drew complaints from viewers and readers who want variety and who care more about the action on the field, wrote ESPN ombudsman Kelly McBride of the Poynter Review Project on Thursday.
McBride quoted a viewer named Les Young of Chesapeake, Va. who wrote:
The ESPN sick love affair with Tim Tebow is way over the top. I've never seen so much attention heaped on a below average quarterback. It's on every show, and on the website every day. ESPN is the worldwide leader at something, alienating people who do not share their man crush.
Some fans "even accuse the network of fanning the flames of Tebowmania to ensure the story lives on," wrote McBride. She noted Skip Bayless "spent an inordinate amount of time on First Take offering up praise for Tebow."
Yes, ESPN "took the cake" when it came to spreading Tebow-mania in the media, wrote McBride. But she her collegues at at Poynter disagree with those critics ripping ESPN for its focus on the Denver Broncos QB.
Tebow-mania was a "national obsession," noted McBride. And ESPN wasn't alone in its frequent coverage of the Heisman Trophy winner from Florida. The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and National Public Radio all rode the Tebow bandwaon. Everyone Poynter talked to at ESPN about the network's Tebow coverage "was unapologetic" about their coverage, she writes.
McBride's verdict on the role played by ESPN in spreading Tebowmania:
When a story gets bigger than the sport itself, and ESPN leans into that narrative rather than turning away, some fans throw up their hands and cry, 'excess.' But an all-sports network is the very definition of excess. We're not inclined to fault folks for doing the very thing that's made them successful.
You Might Be Interested In