Tebow Is Winning Me Over
Okay, so, as an LSU homer I couldn't like Tim coming out of college. I mean, you know, he's still the enemy or something. Oh! By the way, I'm not the cheerleader on the top of the pyramid, but I'm smart enough to know what he did as a QB in college wouldn't translate to the pro game. I wasn't Tebow when Tebow wasn't cool. I never was, right? And I'm not (or wasn't) alone.
So my common lament prior to the draft was, "Just say NO to Tebow". Don't draft him. Pick him up as a project player maybe, but I didn't see his worth as a top draft pick. Certainly not in the first, oh, five rounds or so. Much better to draft a kicker there, or a cleat cleaner. Save your franchise and just say no to Tebow.
And I was right. He is a terrible QB. There's no argument to the contrary. Tebow's numbers aren't that dissimilar to another high-draft fail who I think was in prison recently. Ryan Leaf, meet Tim Tebow, the guy who just let you off the hook...
How bad is Timmy? Oh he's really bad. He's been so bad even the talking heads have stopped making excuses for him. Pedestrian, which is a football term that more or less means 'you suck', is probably too kind. Anemic maybe, is a better word? Not really, since to be anemic means to lack vitality, force, or spirit. I don't think we could say that about Tim, especially the part about spirit.
So, what, then, do we call it? I mean, we're humans, so we have to label him somehow. Lets go with blessed. I think he'd like that anyway. Blessed it is.
So, what do you say about a QB who throws 6 completions in a game and wins? You call him blessed. How about one who regularly throws for less than a hundred yards a game in an era where average QBs easily average 250 or more and still wins while the 250 guys get their brains beat in? Blessed. First round draft money with his clear lack of understanding of the pro game? Blessed indeed.
I just got tired of all the hype. Every thing was and is Tebow. I can't turn on the NFL Network, or ESPN, or heck, even CNN, without getting a face full of Tebow. If I held a grudge because of silly college prejudice before, well now I'm really hating the guy. Now I'm hating because he is clearly the luckiest bastar..., er, most 'blessed' man on the planet. He's won a few, in miraculous fashion, and thanks to a pretty solid defense by the way, and then proceedes to lose what, three in a row to end the season and crawfish his way into the playoffs? Playoffs? Pla...wha...Playoffs? Yes...
Still, every time I click on the tube I get to hear Deon, Irvin, and Mooch doing their juvenile and oh by the way old-after-the-millionth-time-I-heard-it, "Teeeeeeee Bo. Whoaaaaaa Ohhhhhh."
I just threw up a little in my mouth typing that.
They won't stop. They're like kids in the back seat on a long road trip that find something funny and then beat it to death for the next 500 miles. By the time you get to the hotel not only is it NOT funny, but it makes you angry and you want to threaten your kids if they ever say that stupid thing again. So as soon as you turn your back they snicker and giggle their little
's off and say the stupid thing again under their breath. Grrrrrrrrrrr...
Teeeeeeee Bo. Whoaaaaaaa Ohhhhhh.
So after his season-ending loss and during this past week, prior to the wild card round, I decided to give Timmy another chance. Truth be known my dislike for poor Tim really had nothing at all to do with Tim. I hated the hype. I hated where he was drafted. I hated all the attention a sub-par QB was getting. And you're damn right I'm jealous of the money he's making because I know in my heart I could complete 6 passes a game. I owed it to him to allow him, potentially, into my inner circle on his own merits and to not deny him based on the hype (over-hype) of talking media-nozzles. So I cut him some slack and settled in to watch he and his Broncos be dismissed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And then he won. Are you effing kidding me? Holy smoke on the effing water thising guy. Get the outta here, right? He completes 10 passes. But he averaged 30 freakin yards a completion. Damn right his WRs had tons of RAC yards, but hey, is that Timmy's fault? Nope. Is it his fault the Steelers thought so little of him that they didn't feel the need to play a safety where a safety should have been on the first play of overtime? Heck no.
But it's what I saw and heard after the game that really flipped me over to the light. One of the NFL Network hotties interviewed Tim after the game - the Canadian one I think it was (not that there's anything wrong with that). What she basically said to him was, well, mean. What follows is not a direct quote, but it went something like this:
Reporter [her voice almost in a whisper - like she was embarrassed to be there or something]: So, Tim, you're pretty much the worst QB in the NFL, and you really sucked the last few weeks and your team lost as a direct result of that, and yet here you are, still mostly sucking by only completing 10 passes, beating a team you had no right to beat. How do you feel about that?
Tebow [whispering back in kind]: Hey. You know. First I just want to thank my savior the Lord Jesus Christ. It's really all about my team. The players around me are just the best. The coaches are amazing. I took their advice which just shows you how much I have to learn and how amazingly brilliant my coaches and my teammates are. I'm just really blessed.
Now that's not exactly how it went, but it's pretty damn close. Later I saw another reporter ask him essentially the same thing, in pretty much the same way, and Tebow gave the same answer. Praise the Lord. Coach and teammates are amazing. I'm blessed.
So I'm sitting on my couch thinking, you know, this kid doesn't just sound genuine. He really is. If you're a believer, a Christian I mean, then you are SUPPOSED to give praise and promote Jesus all day, every day, and just because most of us don't do that doesn't me we shouldn't. Tim does. Good for him. Most of us Christians call ourselves Christians but how often do we publicly give praise as we are certainly required? Even if you're a non-believer or if you worship Hollywood actresses like Zooey Deschanel (and who doesn't by the way) you have to recognize everyone's right to do it in their own way. You have to admire his devotion to the thing he believes right? Now that I think about it I'm probably going straight to hell. Tebow isn't.
And he gave every stinking last bit of praise to his team. Everybody from management to the guys making plays on the field. He ran around the stadium after the game giving high fives to the fans. He said he wanted them to feel like they were a part of it too. It, by the way, was one of the most amazing and unlikely overtime wins in the history of overtime wins. And he did it in a way that rang true. He's not just faking it. Trust me. I'm skeptical of my own damn preacher. I'm skeptical of the guy flying the plane, of my own damn mother. I mean I'm not gullible. I'm telling you Tim is sincere. I'd bet my left nut on it.
So maybe I'm not 100% Tebowed, but I'm coming around. Yeah, he's not very good, at least not yet, but he's got the "it" factor for sure. And he gives you, or at least he gives me, the impression that he'll do the work. He'll get better. He may in fact get a hell of a lot bette....no, let's say this instead: He's 'blessed' with the work ethic he needs to get better. Who doesn't like the underdog in America? Who doesn't love to see a guy overcome the odds and then be classy while he breaks records and does the unthinkable all the while shifting the praise to his coaches and his teammates even though you KNOW he wants to tell them all to go eat a great big **** burger?
Eh, you know what. That's the difference between me and Tebow. I'm the one who would want to tell them all to go eat a great big **** burger. In fact I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I'd tell them. But I'm going to say I don't think that's what Tim wants to say. It's probably not even crossing his mind to say something like that. It should. Jesus would cut him a break on this one. I'm sure of it.
As a Saints fan, I love Drew Brees for many of the same reasons I'm starting to like Tim Tebow. Stand up guy. Classy. Competitive. Deflects praise to his teammates. I don't see many 300 yards games in Tim's immediate future. I didn't figure he'd get one in his first ever playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers either.
So my common lament prior to the draft was, "Just say NO to Tebow". Don't draft him. Pick him up as a project player maybe, but I didn't see his worth as a top draft pick. Certainly not in the first, oh, five rounds or so. Much better to draft a kicker there, or a cleat cleaner. Save your franchise and just say no to Tebow.
And I was right. He is a terrible QB. There's no argument to the contrary. Tebow's numbers aren't that dissimilar to another high-draft fail who I think was in prison recently. Ryan Leaf, meet Tim Tebow, the guy who just let you off the hook...
So, what, then, do we call it? I mean, we're humans, so we have to label him somehow. Lets go with blessed. I think he'd like that anyway. Blessed it is.
So, what do you say about a QB who throws 6 completions in a game and wins? You call him blessed. How about one who regularly throws for less than a hundred yards a game in an era where average QBs easily average 250 or more and still wins while the 250 guys get their brains beat in? Blessed. First round draft money with his clear lack of understanding of the pro game? Blessed indeed.
I just got tired of all the hype. Every thing was and is Tebow. I can't turn on the NFL Network, or ESPN, or heck, even CNN, without getting a face full of Tebow. If I held a grudge because of silly college prejudice before, well now I'm really hating the guy. Now I'm hating because he is clearly the luckiest bastar..., er, most 'blessed' man on the planet. He's won a few, in miraculous fashion, and thanks to a pretty solid defense by the way, and then proceedes to lose what, three in a row to end the season and crawfish his way into the playoffs? Playoffs? Pla...wha...Playoffs? Yes...
Still, every time I click on the tube I get to hear Deon, Irvin, and Mooch doing their juvenile and oh by the way old-after-the-millionth-time-I-heard-it, "Teeeeeeee Bo. Whoaaaaaa Ohhhhhh."
I just threw up a little in my mouth typing that.
They won't stop. They're like kids in the back seat on a long road trip that find something funny and then beat it to death for the next 500 miles. By the time you get to the hotel not only is it NOT funny, but it makes you angry and you want to threaten your kids if they ever say that stupid thing again. So as soon as you turn your back they snicker and giggle their little
's off and say the stupid thing again under their breath. Grrrrrrrrrrr...Teeeeeeee Bo. Whoaaaaaaa Ohhhhhh.
So after his season-ending loss and during this past week, prior to the wild card round, I decided to give Timmy another chance. Truth be known my dislike for poor Tim really had nothing at all to do with Tim. I hated the hype. I hated where he was drafted. I hated all the attention a sub-par QB was getting. And you're damn right I'm jealous of the money he's making because I know in my heart I could complete 6 passes a game. I owed it to him to allow him, potentially, into my inner circle on his own merits and to not deny him based on the hype (over-hype) of talking media-nozzles. So I cut him some slack and settled in to watch he and his Broncos be dismissed by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And then he won. Are you effing kidding me? Holy smoke on the effing water this
ing guy. Get the outta here, right? He completes 10 passes. But he averaged 30 freakin yards a completion. Damn right his WRs had tons of RAC yards, but hey, is that Timmy's fault? Nope. Is it his fault the Steelers thought so little of him that they didn't feel the need to play a safety where a safety should have been on the first play of overtime? Heck no. But it's what I saw and heard after the game that really flipped me over to the light. One of the NFL Network hotties interviewed Tim after the game - the Canadian one I think it was (not that there's anything wrong with that). What she basically said to him was, well, mean. What follows is not a direct quote, but it went something like this:
Reporter [her voice almost in a whisper - like she was embarrassed to be there or something]: So, Tim, you're pretty much the worst QB in the NFL, and you really sucked the last few weeks and your team lost as a direct result of that, and yet here you are, still mostly sucking by only completing 10 passes, beating a team you had no right to beat. How do you feel about that?
Tebow [whispering back in kind]: Hey. You know. First I just want to thank my savior the Lord Jesus Christ. It's really all about my team. The players around me are just the best. The coaches are amazing. I took their advice which just shows you how much I have to learn and how amazingly brilliant my coaches and my teammates are. I'm just really blessed.
Now that's not exactly how it went, but it's pretty damn close. Later I saw another reporter ask him essentially the same thing, in pretty much the same way, and Tebow gave the same answer. Praise the Lord. Coach and teammates are amazing. I'm blessed.
So I'm sitting on my couch thinking, you know, this kid doesn't just sound genuine. He really is. If you're a believer, a Christian I mean, then you are SUPPOSED to give praise and promote Jesus all day, every day, and just because most of us don't do that doesn't me we shouldn't. Tim does. Good for him. Most of us Christians call ourselves Christians but how often do we publicly give praise as we are certainly required? Even if you're a non-believer or if you worship Hollywood actresses like Zooey Deschanel (and who doesn't by the way) you have to recognize everyone's right to do it in their own way. You have to admire his devotion to the thing he believes right? Now that I think about it I'm probably going straight to hell. Tebow isn't.
And he gave every stinking last bit of praise to his team. Everybody from management to the guys making plays on the field. He ran around the stadium after the game giving high fives to the fans. He said he wanted them to feel like they were a part of it too. It, by the way, was one of the most amazing and unlikely overtime wins in the history of overtime wins. And he did it in a way that rang true. He's not just faking it. Trust me. I'm skeptical of my own damn preacher. I'm skeptical of the guy flying the plane, of my own damn mother. I mean I'm not gullible. I'm telling you Tim is sincere. I'd bet my left nut on it.
So maybe I'm not 100% Tebowed, but I'm coming around. Yeah, he's not very good, at least not yet, but he's got the "it" factor for sure. And he gives you, or at least he gives me, the impression that he'll do the work. He'll get better. He may in fact get a hell of a lot bette....no, let's say this instead: He's 'blessed' with the work ethic he needs to get better. Who doesn't like the underdog in America? Who doesn't love to see a guy overcome the odds and then be classy while he breaks records and does the unthinkable all the while shifting the praise to his coaches and his teammates even though you KNOW he wants to tell them all to go eat a great big **** burger?
Eh, you know what. That's the difference between me and Tebow. I'm the one who would want to tell them all to go eat a great big **** burger. In fact I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I'd tell them. But I'm going to say I don't think that's what Tim wants to say. It's probably not even crossing his mind to say something like that. It should. Jesus would cut him a break on this one. I'm sure of it.
As a Saints fan, I love Drew Brees for many of the same reasons I'm starting to like Tim Tebow. Stand up guy. Classy. Competitive. Deflects praise to his teammates. I don't see many 300 yards games in Tim's immediate future. I didn't figure he'd get one in his first ever playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers either.
Total Comments 26
Comments
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I hated Tebow as a collegiate player and I hate him as a quarterback. But for some strange reason, I can't help but root for Timmy Tebags.Posted 01-09-2012 at 04:08 PM by papz
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I'm a non-believer but I do like Tebow for the work ethic reasons. Kind of like Doug Flutie he is a total underdog, one that is fun to watch and keep tabs on even if you're not necessarily a fan.
And boo to Mike Tomlin. He should know by now ... NO ONE can escape overtime a victor against Tim Tebow. You go for two to win the game in regulation if there is any chance for overtime. Tebow will win coin flip and will win the game, and just watch because he will do it again. (Half-kidding here)Posted 01-09-2012 at 07:56 PM by neugey
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Blessed are you when men curse and revile and say all manner of
evil against you, falsely... (because you are Mine?)
He's the GW Bush of football.
I love him.
great read, SF.Posted 01-10-2012 at 07:37 AM by skymike
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Tim Tebow is what you would call an 'enigma', a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation. He's the worst QB in the league, but he's pure money when the game is on the line. Can't do anything but win. My prediction? In the off-season, John Fox contacts Urban Meyer for his Florida playbook and Denver scraps their offense so Tebow can run the Florida offense for the Broncos. Bet.
After doubting Tebow since his college days, I begrudgingly give him his props, you gotta' love a scrapper. :SloMotion does the 'Tebow' pose:
go Lions.Posted 01-10-2012 at 08:14 AM by SloMotion
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I'm not much of a religionist, and I really don't care for his basic theft of the pose, sans seat, of the sculpture "The Thinker." (google it)
The irritating thing with religion is, you never get any credit for your hard work, or effort, yet if things go bad, you get all the blame. So, where is the self-esteem in that? To play in the NFL, or do anything successfully, you've got to have self-esteem, and you've got to accept that when good things happen you should get the credit, and when bad things happen, usually they are somewhat your fault, though certainly exceptions occur both ways.
I do like the way he'll run the ball once and a while. I think that makes the game more interesting, though I certainly understand why quarterbacks don't.
Like the SNL skit said, with Brady and the Patriots, I think Jesus is going to say "You're on your own!" Not only is his ride over, at least for this year, but I think there is going to be some substantial running up of the score.
Plus I find proselytizing of religion really, really irritating. If you want to believe, fine. Don't spew that stuff all over the place, keep it in the closet as the bible directs, or one might think you hope to glean some sort of advantage with your holy-roller antics.Posted 01-10-2012 at 11:40 AM by mike27
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Great post SF. Pleasure to read. Keep it coming.Posted 01-10-2012 at 01:19 PM by SapperSaint
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Kind of double-posted--how do I delete one of them, or is done, done?Posted 01-10-2012 at 01:45 PM by mike27
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Posted 01-10-2012 at 05:27 PM by neugey
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I'm sorry Saintfan, but please stop now. If I have to hear one more prediction or critique, of any kind, about Tebow, I will throw up.
To me religious one's religious beliefs and practices are very personal and should be kept mostly private. His public praying is, to me, simply a shameless evangelical flaunt.
We all believe SOMETHING. And, we all have potential.
He may prove to be an outstanding NFL quarterback but, he has not proven that this season. He may prove to be an outstanding Christian, but that is not a competition. And, the only person(s) to whom he needs to prove the quality of his faith, is himself, and his God.Posted 01-11-2012 at 03:39 AM by WHO_DAT_CAT
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Hilarious link neugey! It's about time the media quit riding Tebow's jock and started poking some serious fun at him, SNL notwithstanding. Plus, you guys gotta' luv the Seahawk reference at the beginning, lol! Had to add it to my favorites so I can watch it a few more times, haha!Posted 01-11-2012 at 06:43 AM by SloMotion
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Yea, this whole religious thing has been a shameless flaunting all the way back to his introduction into the league. Play the game, shut up, and stop trying to shove religion down everyone in the games' throats.
Besides, does Tebow think he's the only one that believes in this mystical God? I'm sure others on the other team believe too. Why is he so special as to think God is only going to help him.
Religion is mostly a waste of time--arguing about things we can never know, UNTIL we die, and then maybe not either. So why waste so much time on it? Because some sheep-herders way back when, or Roman soldiers and politicians came up with it? Since our media keeps trying to shove it down our throats because it's really just a manipulation device for our population? Sorry, there is no way anyone can ever know for sure, and to me this exercise of trying to convince yourself you believe just so you don't burn is close to insane. It all sounds to be, like every other religion, stuff of human invention.
Play football, and shut-up. Perhaps we should penalize the Tebow "thinker pose."Posted 01-11-2012 at 10:44 AM by mike27
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Living in Florida and not being a Gators fan I cannot tell you how tired I am of hearing his name. What gets me is the attention he is receiving as he is probably in the bottom five of all NFL starters. There are couple of guys who are in the middle of the pack as far a talent and have not received near the hype, Smith or Dalton as two examples. Let him succeed or let him fail I don't care either way, but I wish I could have the wasted hours of my life back or $1.00 for each time I heard his name.Posted 01-11-2012 at 02:09 PM by subguy
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Some interesting responses. Good stuff. Believe me, until recently I would have been the last man on this earth to defend Tebow, but please let me say this:
His thanking Jesus at every opportunity, in my opinion at least, is not "shoving his religion down everyone's throat". Christians are supposed to do that. I very much dislike those who want to come into my office or show up at my home and discuss with me their take on passage "X" from chapter "Y" in Bible version "Z". As a believer, I can only offer my opinion, which is to say there are enough flavors of "Being a Christian" as to make it clear to anyone paying attention that nobody really knows, right?
What Tim is doing is what he is supposed to be doing. He's not forcing it down our throats. He has an amazing platform from which he can express his Christianity, but up and until he stands behind the mic and tells me I have it wrong because I believe some thing or the other, then he can pretty much praise Jimmy Hoffa for all I care.
My point was just to say that my disdain for the guy came initially from the fact that he played for the competition in the SEC. It then morphed into the hype at draft time, and lately has been fueled by the over-coverage of a person I consider to be a sub-standard NFL QB.
Still, he wins and his team is one game from the AFC Championship. Of course Brady will wipe the floor with Denver, again, but that really isn't the point.
For all my dislike for the guy, I'm just confessing that, in general, it has very little to do with HIM, the person...the individual. He seems like a very sincere, hard working, devoted, classy, respectful young man doing the best he can, and stats be damned, he's doing pretty good.
Don't we - shouldn't we - give him props for that?Posted 01-11-2012 at 04:32 PM by saintfan
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I am able to give credit when it is due....and my feelings have absolutely nothing to do with him as a person. At his present level he just doesn't deserve the press he is receiving. He has had a good game mixed in but far more less than mediocre showings. Just because I would probably allow him to date my daughter doesn't mean he is a good qb.Posted 01-11-2012 at 05:12 PM by subguy
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poor stats, poor mechanics, "waa, he talks about Jesus & that offends me," overhyped, -- etc etc.
He's a winner. He finds a way. He gives credit to his teammates. And he smiles.
He's a great pick, and he hasnt even begun to reach his potential.Posted 01-11-2012 at 05:39 PM by skymike
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I seem to remember something about practicing your faith in the closet, and to beware of those who do it in public.
Put another way, Tebow doing it on his stage is much the same as one who puts on a play, and acts, and recites lines, for those who are watching to look.
Like it or not, he's on his stage, and when he does this stuff in the public eye, it is done for the purpose of serving it up to the masses. I want to watch a football game, not have someone push a particular brand of religion.
I can't say it bothers me greatly. I just think he's kind of stupid, and displaying his stupidity by not keeping his own personal Jesus, to himself.
Would a football team come in and start passing, blocking, and playing in a church congregation? It's out of place, much like religion in government is out of place, and inappropriate, and whenever someone does that, it is shoving it down my gullet. I don't want to see it, and I don't watch football for someone to preach it. But I support his right to worship as he wishes, with others, in the proper context, because that is America.Posted 01-11-2012 at 06:35 PM by mike27
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Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.Quote:Originally Posted by mike27
I seem to remember something about practicing your faith in the closet, and to beware of those who do it in public.
Also, I wonder what would happen if Tebow was a Muslim quarterback? What if, on the sideline, he pulled out his prayer rug, faced east toward Mecca and started bobbing up and down?
I bet I am not the only person who would feel annoyed about that.
This is not a Christian nation. I mean isn't that a given? This nation was founded by religious refugees who arrived here to escape religious persecution. A fundamental tenant of our Constitution is freedom of religion. Football is not a Christian sport. Tim Tebow needs to practice his faith outside of the range of the cameras.Posted 01-11-2012 at 07:42 PM by WHO_DAT_CAT
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I didn't realize there were so many Tebowphobes out there.
Personally, I don't get it. What I don't get the most, however, is the part where people criticize his ability to play QB. I guess everybody else saw something different when he was in college, because I thought he was awesome running and passing. Why does Philip Rivers never get criticized for his mechanics?Posted 01-11-2012 at 08:49 PM by Saint_LB
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What's not to like? Tebow is the ultimate winner with the game on the line. That's why you play. It doesn't matter if it's pretty or not.Posted 01-12-2012 at 06:27 AM by SanDiego49er
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IMO, this is all becoming a big sociological experiment ... how much attention, adoration and defamation can one man (Tebow) possibly receive and still remain humble and unchanged? Sponsored by ESPN.Posted 01-12-2012 at 08:40 AM by neugey
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