A year and a half ago I wrote a post about Tim Tebow (see https://heelcatcher.com/?p=602). It was in the height of his improbable run of leading the Denver Broncos into the playoffs…despite putting up awful stats as a quarterback and generally waiting until the last two minutes of the 4th quarter to play well. It was a fun ride and Tebow became a phenomenom and a pariah both at the same time.
Since then, Tebow has been wished sayonara by the Broncos (who never really wanted him as a QB), languished through an abysmal year with the Jets (who never really knew why they had him), and been passed over by every other team in the NFL (who never really thought he belonged in the NFL to begin with).
Until Belichick and the New England Patriots picked him up on a no guarantee, two-year contract this past week.
Tebow is back on the NFL radar and all over the Twitter world…though many would say that he never really left it.
I was excited to hear the news that the Patriots had picked him up. I was hoping that he would get another chance to play in the NFL. I figured Jacksonville would be the first to pick him up when he was released. It seemed like a no brainer to me. If the goal of an NFL team (at least in the business sense) is to sell tickets, then Tebow would be an immediate draw to a mediocre franchise. What would be the harm of giving the "Tebow experiment" a year to work? Jacksonville isn't wowing anyone on the field right now and their current QB isn't that exciting to the Jacksonville fan base. C'mon, would you be more likely to watch a Jacksonville game if Tebow was QBing or Blaine Gabbert was? If Tebow didn't work out, then everyone would know it. If he did, then Jacksonville would not only be successful in the ticket office but in the win column as well. But Jacksonville, which is sort of like the neglected little step-child of the NFL, apparently didn't want to appear to be desperate or out of step with the other teams in the league. Why risk being the laughingstock of the league when you are already snickered at as a franchise?
So many thought that Tebow's only real hope was the Patriots. Belichick could keep the media circus in line. Josh McDaniels, who was the only one who really believed in Tebow on draft day, is on the Patriots' staff. And the starting QB, Tom Brady, is so solidly entrenched that no QB controversy could feasibily develop. But the Patriots didn't seem interested.
Until now.
After the Patriots picked Tebow up, I read some of the comments by sportswriters. Most thought that Belichick was arrogant or just plain stupid. Few saw any value in Tebow. Many used the opportunity to again blast the man they love to blast. "He can't play QB." "His mechanics are terrible." "Welcome to the circus." "Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb…."
Why all the fascination, fuming, and fuss over Tebow?
I am a Tebow fan. I guess I am one of the "crazies" that sportswriters like to lampoon. But I don't like Tebow because I think he is the next Peyton Manning. Hey, Denver is much better off with Peyton at the helm. I don't know a lot about QB mechanics and so who I am to say whether Tebow can make it in the NFL? Maybe he can't. Maybe all the naysayers will be proved right. That's okay. Football to me is just entertainment. It is not life or death (despite what many fans think). It is a game. A fun game. A lucrative game. But a game nonetheless.
I like Tebow because I respect him. I admire his Christian faith. I think he is a young man of integrity. I think he is a hard worker, an authentic individual, a good athlete, and a person with a genuine desire to use his influence and affluence to encourage others, help the needy, and share the good news of Jesus Christ. I like Tebow because he is someone that I would gladly have my four boys look up to and emulate. That can't be said about a lot of sports stars. So for that reason, I would love to see him succeed.
So for the life of me, I can't understand why people seem to hate him so much…and want him to fail. Maybe he gets too much attention. Sportswriters like to blame Tebow fans for keeping him on the radar…but Tebow fans aren't the ones who keep writing sports columns about him and featuring him on ESPN. Maybe his fans are too devoted to him. That's possible but not really new or unusual in the sports world. How can fans of sports athletes decry other fans of sports athletes for being fans of sports athletes? "Well, Tebow hasn't done enough to deserve it." I don't know. Two national collegiate championships and a Heisman Trophy aren't too shabby. And despite poor statistics, he actually has done remarkably well as a starting NFL QB…at least in the wins and "intangibles" categories.
No, Tebow seems to inspire disdain and disgust for some other reason. Maybe he is "too good" as a role model. Maybe he's the good kid that always gets A's in the class and so the other kids in the class start wanting him to fail. Maybe people see him as a fake because he smiles too much. Maybe people have lingering loatheful feelings from his days as a Florida Gator. Maybe people hate second and third string QB's with bad mechanics. Maybe some hate Tebow because he represents what our society can no longer seem to understand or tolerate–a commitment to sexual purity and an unabashed devotion to Jesus Christ as his Savior.
I don't know.
But I do know if Tebow makes the cut and plays this year in the NFL, then I will say something that I don't think I have ever said before.
"Go Patriots!"
Well said. I do hope Tim has a better experience there than the Jets gave him. Since I don't folllow sports that closely, I was surprised to find out that the offensive coordinator who wanted him at Denver is the offensive coordinator at New England AND they don't have but 2 quarterbacks.
Well said! Except for the "Go, Patriots!" part!