January 16, 2012
During Saturday's NFL playoff game between Tim Tebow's Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, pro-family organization Focus on the Family ran an ad in which children recited John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." According to preliminary numbers, the game was "the highest-rated AFC divisional playoff in 18 years," with a total of more than 29 million viewers. The ad came just a week after Tebow passed for 316 yards in a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, causing John 3:16 to be the most searched item on Google and leading to a number of Internet salvations. "There has been a lot of buzz lately about what John 3:16 says, and we wanted to help people understand it without having to run to their computer to look it up," said Focus on the Family's Jim Daly. "We hope this helps everyone understand some numbers are more important than the ones on the scoreboard."