Tim Tebow making Jesus more popular?

Yesterday, we noted that Tim Tebow's rib injury during the Patriots game was similar to one sustained by Jesus during the crucifixion. A bit of a stretch? Maybe -- but no more of one than a new claim that the Chosen One's popularity is rubbing off on a certain savior...

By Michael Roberts

January 19, 2012

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Yesterday, we noted that Tim Tebow's rib injury during the Patriots game was similar to one sustained by Jesus during the crucifixion.

A bit of a stretch? Maybe -- but no more of one than a new claim that the Chosen One's popularity is rubbing off on a certain savior.

So say folks at Business Insider, who've just published a piece entitled "Jesus is Now More Popular Thanks to Tim Tebow."

As evidence, they offer the following chart tracking Google search volume since the NFL lockout ended in July:

Author Cork Gaines's interpretation: "As Tebow's popularity has increased, so has that of Jesus. And everytime we see a peak in Tebow's popularity, we also see a peak in the popularity of Jesus. In fact, since the onset of Tebowmania, the popularity of searches for Jesus on Google have increased by approximately 50 percent."

To test this theory, we did our own Google trends search over the past twelve months -- and the charts we wound up with aren't exactly mirror images of each other. Here's the one for Tebow....

...and here's the Jesus chart. However, we at Westword have certainly done our bit to make the Business Insider hypothesis come true -- by featuring a record-setting number of Tebow-related Bible verses.

If that doesn't get us into heaven, nothing will.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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