INTRO
The Tim Tebow Phenomenon has inspired me to do a lot of reflecting. Throughout the season, I've been very interested to observe what's happened with public perception on this issue. The media has been against him all season for one reason, and it's not because they hate God or hate his politics, it's because they hate being wrong.
SELF-PROCLAIMED UNDERDOG
Here's where I get confused on Tim Tebow. He declares himself an underdog, like he's always had an uphill climb in life. Um, okay Tim.
If being one of the top ranked high school recruits with a freakishly athletic 6-foot, 3-inch build is being an underdog, what does that make the David Eckstein's of the world?!
Then he gets a full college scholarship to play for one of the top NCAA Division I football programs in the country, and a fine academic institution: University of Florida. Boy, being an underdog sure has it's perks!
As a true freshman, he didn't get to start, because they had a senior starting quarterback named Chris Leak that was another prized recruit 4 years earlier. Leak didn't make it as an NFL quarterback, but he did well for himself. The Gators only won the National Championship his senior year, with a rookie star in the making Tebow playing a key reserve role and finishing 2nd on the team in rushing yards.
As a sophomore, Tebow took the reins, like everyone knew he would when he was recruited. And, he did okay, he only won the Heisman Trophy. As a junior, he won the National Championship for the second time in his three year career. By his senior year, he had the SEC record for career passing efficiency and career rushing touchdowns. Not a bad combo. Oh yeah, he was 2nd in NCAA history in pass efficiency and 10th in career rushing touchdowns. He was a three-time All-American (two-time First Team).
Still, he's a self proclaimed underdog.
Then he goes and gets drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos. Life is rough, isn't it?
He starts three games as a rookie, Aaron Rodgers didn't even get to do that.
He earns the starting QB job as a second year pro this year, and is a piece of the puzzle that turned the Broncos from a 1-4 team into AFC West Division Champions and a playoff team.
He had amazing 4th quarter heroics. His best attribute is not his build, his frame, his athleticism, his strong arm or his QB instincts. His best attributes are his work ethic, his leadership and his unfailing ability to forget his prior failures. How many players in the history of the game can be exposed as a terrible quarterback for 3 quarters, and in the 4th quarter lead his team to victory? He's never thinking about his last throw, he's always thinking about his next throw.
This is an intangible quality that the Todd McShay's and Mel Kiper's couldn't measure. The combines, the personality tests, the interviews, etc. But the Broncos saw something. And even if John Elway has been ready to pull the plug all season, the intangibles are most likely going to win him over as well.
Any player that starts as a high school great with everyone saying how great you'll be at college and probably a professional is never going to be an underdog. Any 3 year starter at a school like Florida (Ohio State, USC, LSU, Notre Dame, etc.) who wins two NCAA titles and a Heisman is never going to be an underdog. First Round Draft Picks are not underdogs.
Player's with Tebow's pedigree will all be scrutinized for everything they do as an NFL player. Tebow has earned the right to be nit-picked at the highest level. This is what happens to guys who have already achieved what he has achieved.
So he can go one of two ways: the Aaron Rodgers route - a QB who slid on draft day and had to sit on the sidelines for his shot at glory, and then delivered when it was his turn; or first round bust.
Helping his team reach the playoffs and winning a first round playoff game already put him out of the first round bust equation.
But he's nowhere near Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Tom Brady status. And let's not forget, Tom Brady is way closer to an "underdog" than Tim Tebow ever will be. A 6th round pick, won the Super Bowl in his first year as starter with a former stud (Drew Bledsoe) sidelined because of injury.
Tim Tebow is what he is. He's a starting NFL quarterback. He deserves to start the Broncos next game. He deserves a contract extension to be the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. That makes him one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the world, and safe to say one of the top 20 QB's in the world.
The most important position in America's most popular sport, and Tebow is one of the 20 best in the world.
Is that an underdog?
LIKING TIM TEBOW
Part two of the rant are the Tebow supporters. If you are a Bronco fan, you should love this guy. He wins games and that's all that should matter as a fan. Who cares about the stats, it's the wins that count, and he already has a playoff win.
If you are just a fan of Tim Tebow, he's easy to like - I totally get it. He's a Christian with a good head on his shoulders. He's a leader. He works hard. He doesn't quit, he doesn't relent and he rallies guys around him when times are toughest. He has all the immeasurable characteristics.
If you like him because he's a Christian - that's okay! There's nothing wrong with that.
If you like him because of his conservative political values, that's okay, too!
There's nothing wrong with liking an athlete because of what they represent off the field. I'm moderate politically and am generally turned off by the extremes on both sides, however for disclaimer purposes, I do vote Democrat in nearly every election (that doesn't make me "a liberal" either for all my conservative readers).
That said, I don't know any other athlete's political stance - it's absolutely not a factor for me to like or dislike a player. I like players for what they do ON THE FIELD, that's my personal stance, because too many times a "good guy" athlete turns out to be a scum bag.
But Tebow's off-the-field views don't change his ability on the field. They don't make him the best player in the league. They don't make him the most compelling story in the league. Being a Christian and being conservative don't mean he deserves the headlines, and those qualities don't make him better at football. His values help make him a good man, but being a good man is hardly a prerequisite for being good at football and I think his supporters need to separate these things when his football play is criticized. Again, a player of his pedigree is going to be criticized for the reasons mentioned above.
TEBOW IS WHAT HE IS
He's certainly a flawed NFL quarterback. But so was Drew Brees. He was too short and didn't have a strong enough arm to be great, right? He's done pretty well. Tebow might have a slow delivery and telegraph passes, but he has a strong arm, and that pass to Thomas against the Steelers was a laser and right on the money.
The point here is this: Tim Tebow is what he is. Currently an average NFL quarterback, but a young NFL quarterback. He has major flaws to his game for his position. But he has what not many players have, almost a 6th sense. He is so young in his NFL career. Let's not anoint him the savior of football because he believes in Jesus; and at the same time let's not prosecute him out of the league because he takes forever to throw a ball.
Time will judge Tim Tebow as an NFL player. Will he be a Hall of Famer? It's not even worth discussing yet for any player of his experience. For a guy this young, take it a game at a time and keep it in context or fans of Tebow are setting Tebow the player up for failure if he doesn't live up to it.
He deserves to play, and as a result of getting his team to the playoffs and winning an NFL Playoff game, he deserves a contract extension and a starting job next year. From there, NFL jobs can be a game-by-game decision on if you deserve to play, especially at quarterback.
Let's not forget, Tarvaris Jackson went 8-2 as a starter and led the Vikings to the playoffs. Tebow could be the next great QB and a once-in-a-lifetime player due to his unorthodox QB attributes; or he could be the next Tarvaris Jackson. Time will tell, in the meantime, give him the ball against the Patriots and see what happens.
RELIGION IN THE NFL
Some people say his belief in God is over the top, unnecessary and should be kept out of the locker room. To those people, I say: Who cares, it doesn't affect you at all! If it's over the top, the guys in the locker room wouldn't respond to him as a leader. His team has rallied around him, and if they are fine with it, then you should be, too!
At the same time, God isn't winning football games for the Denver Broncos. I'd hope that God wouldn't intervene in the world through football, because in the grand scheme of things, it's just not that important. Bronco fans may disagree, though :)
There are Christians in both locker rooms, there are agnostics in both locker rooms, there are probably Muslims in both locker rooms on any given Sunday. Tebow is no more of a believer and no more righteous than any other Christian, he just has a large platform from which to be a role model for other Christians.
All believers are treated equal in the eyes of God, and I'd hope He wouldn't put special treatment on a spiral off of Tebow's left hand then on a spiral off the hand of any other quarterback.
It's okay for Tim Tebow to be himself. If his religion bothers you, maybe it's your own insecurity. Personally, I know what my faith is and I don't need Tim Tebow to tell me it's okay to be a Christian. So I ignore that aspect of Tim Tebow, because I don't know him, and he's not a personal role model in my life but it does make him a guy you want to root for.
I saw a Facebook post by a longtime family friend that said because of Tim Tebow's "John 3:16" on his eyeblack, XX million (don't remember the number, too lazy to look it up!) people Googled it; and he helped deliver the Gospel to that many people - maybe a decent percentage of them for the first time.
That's pretty cool.
I truly hope that Tim Tebow is who he says he is, and he's not just another out-of-touch superstar that has let the money and fame turn him into a non-human like so many other pro athletes, movie stars, music starts, politicians, etc. I hope he's not just another scum bag.
Time will tell, and Tebow has one true judge.
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This is a good article, and I think you explain about as much as you possibly can in laying out your arguments. I will say, I don't disagree with you on much. However, I will make a counter-argument to your first argument about Tebow and being an "underdog." Please keep in mind, that much of this is Devil's Advocate, and not personal advocacy. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but there's something I think you are not considering in you calculus of "underdog."
ReplyDeleteFirst, you certainly lay out a great argument about numbers and perception. It is hard to make a case based upon raw numbers and procedural decisions like starting, contracts, drafts, etc. However, this is an inherently extrinsic view of the situation. From the outside, indeed, how could one argue this? I suspect on the inside, it's much different.
People react differently to intrinsic matters such as sense of self and identity. If there's one thing that's clear about Tebow, he's got a pretty strong grip on these two things. This, combined with his religiosity, does make for a enticing target for people who may not disagree with the person, but disagree with a perceived ideology. I don't think I need to unload this much, but being in that situation day in and day out would seem to lead to a number of situations in which people whom disagree with him are seen as big of a deal internally than any raw achievement.
In fact, as someone who has been mostly non-religious throughout my life, I can almost guarantee you he faces some pretty rude ass people, and likely responds totally sweet and disarming. However, that does not mean that the person does not internalize this objection, which is not only to him, but to his entire belief system.
I frankly have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with him talking about God as often as he wants. This is not a public enterprise. This is his first amendment right, and god damn, if he doesn't make a really convincing case for Freedom of Speech akin with someone like Larry Flint. I'm sure Tebow would not desire to be compared with the man, but the comparison between the two on their convictions cannot be denied.
So, I can most certainly see how he views himself as an underdog. I don't need to bring up his whole "shoulda died in utero" deal, but I'm sure that also plays into it. In the end, what we see in the media, versus what he experiences internally are two vastly different worlds. Considering that there was a lot of guff about him in the draft, and plenty of reports through his career that he wouldn't succeed up the ladder, I don't think it's a stretch to say that philosophically and emotionally, he definitely fits the mold of an underdog.
Finally, also consider that positioning yourself as the underdog makes people write articles like this challenging that notion, and in execution of your paper, you actually position him as an underdog. It's somewhat brilliant.