Yes, yes, the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots. And yes, Tim Tebow has a history of throwing his piety in people’s faces. And while you could say that Tebow is a hypocrite for his overt religious displays, you could also say that he’s being entirely consistent. Big books written by many authors over hundreds of years are funny that way.

Regardless, Tebow’s critics seem to be missing one important fact: Football is monetized entertainment. The NFL exists to make money by putting on a good show. The profit from the show is a function of how much people will pay to watch, less production costs. (Incidentally, lowering production costs is exactly why teams try to get the public to pay for their expensive, shiny new stadiums.) The NFL will allow the controversy to ebb and flow as long as it brings them eyeballs, because more eyeballs means more money with zero addition to production cost.

Who people should really be complaining about is Pat Bowlen and Roger Goodell, the owner of the Denver Broncos and the NFL commissioner. They are the ones who allow this circus to continue. The greater the spectacle, the bigger the prospective bonuses. What they don’t know or don’t care to admit is that for every Hulk Hogan there is an Iron Sheik. Once the NFL becomes a contest of personalities rather than ability, it will become a farce of its former self.