This blog entry is overdue. Obviously I (a sports and ESPN addict) have grown very tired of the media-created "Tebow Mania" which has swept the nation - I hope not the world - the past few months. I sit here after he's finally been eliminated from the playoffs and am still hearing more about him than the teams still competing for a Championship. I'm sitting here thinking and I can't imagine someone who has caused more mixed feelings on so many different levels. Whenever arguments start about him, I start Tebow bashing" and get to the point where u say "Man, u really hate this guy." That's the point where I find myself shooting completely the other way, like "I mean hes a great person and leader and such tho" and I realize that I need to organize my thoughts, so here they are. Timothy Richard Tebow is a great young man personally and spiritually. His humility, motivational skills, and open faith give him, his teammates and followers tremendous confidence in him; this aids him in his well documented 4th quarter successes. He's a true high character role model in an age where a lot of athletes are not that way. These factors, which are very much more important in his life outside of the sporting world, are what make him so popular and get people to ignore the harsh truth about Tebow inside the sports profession he chose to take part in. That truth is that he is not nearly the quarterback he gets credit for being. Think of what a written job description of playing NFL quarterback would read like. Throwing the ball accurately and consistently is not 100% of the QB job description, there are rushing, toughness, and intangible factors; he has an abundance of those last traits. However, throwing the ball accurately and consistently (key word, CONSISTENTLY, not 46% of the time) still comprises a good 60% of the job description. Even in his historical string of comebacks, the facts are he didn't complete 50% of his passes (the certifiable standard for QBs is usually 60%) and looked sub-par for the first 3.5 quarters of most games. And unlike most QBs (the ultimate "all the glory, all the blame" position in football), ppl praised him in victory, but then blamed their defense (who actually saved many of their wins by limiting teams to 14 pts or less) when they lost. I get why Christians look up to him and support him unconditionally. But then I see how so many athletes, especially supporters of Black QBs, argue that no Black QB keeps his starting job even if he's winning; Ask Tavaris Jackson, Arron Brooks, Cordell Stewart and other Black QBs that won more games and had better passing numbers than Tebow and still got run out of their towns. I get how his "Never Give Up on urself, Keep the Faith" messages are so unifying and motivational. At the same time, I can see resentment coming from the fact that he got Kyle Orton run out of town from his popularity and not outplaying him on the field. He also gets credit for two national championship victories when he was a backup and situational player (like 10 plays a game) behind my hometown's own Chris Leak who actually led the team; this disrespect has led to much of the Tebow resentment here in Charlotte in particular. I get how ppl say he deserves a chance at QB, he's been a winner all through high school and college. But at the same time Leak didn't lost a game for 3.8 years of his college career and led that team through the SEC to the National Championship; where is the outcry for his opportunity? I've heard people say his unorthodox success is further validation of the power of faith; it's gained positive attention towards Christianity, especially with the inexplicable 3:16 numerical values in the win over the Steelers (316 passing yds, 31.6 yds per completion, 31.6 TV rating, 31:06 time of possession, etc). While I do think much of his confidence and personality comes from his faith, I do not think God would be caught up on something like who wins football games. So I can see how some Christians might see this as trivializing the works of the divine power. I could also see how those who don't like the concept of religion could point to this as a reason for their distaste. As a role model, I get how a Congressman could ask him appear for the prayer at major events. At the same time, there are better QBs who are also Christians and true Christian figures who are getting overlooked for such an opportunity. People have gone so far as calling praying on one knee (which has been done for as long as I can remember) "Tebowing" which I find ridiculous. I get why friends of mine support him and truly want to see him succeed (despite the "great QB" hyperbole that's often given to him unfairly). At the same time, my best friend said he represents corruption in White America, the "Great White Hope" who will get the notoriety and doors opened that others are more deserving of but will never get a crack at. He could probably get elected mayor of Gainesville, FL right now. I see how ppl saw his winning streak and loved him saying "All He Does Is Win". But I also see how his boss John Elway (certifiable great QB by definition and success) isn't convinced that he's ultimately gonna be his guy. I say all this to say Tim Tebow (under little fault of his own, he doesn't play into it) has something about him that's caused "Tebowmania" among coaches, sportswriters, and coaches all over. Unfortunately for him, all of that presses (a ridiculous amount of it) has been enough to provide all sides with what they need to paint him what they think of him; humble hero, recipient of "favorites games", faithful savior of pop culture generation, undeserving Great White Hope, Christian Crusador, exploitative media hog, ultimate "between the numbers" team competitor, inadequate QB keeping job through popularity, etc. The media created it with the brightest spotlight we've seen in a long time. I wish they would just let him play the game and things will be what they will be. So to bring it all back, I have no problems with him as a person. But my response to the media circus is simple, criticism will end when he starts performing his position like a first round pick QB he was drafted as. Stop Me When I Start Lying...
