It was not until my 5am drive to the airport this morning that I truly made up my mind about Tim Tebow. I had certain, firm opinions in my head about him, but the full concept of Tebow had not materialized until I looked out at large industrial wastelands looming over street after street of row homes in disrepair. In the deep black morning, the street lights lit still streets that would no doubt soon see their residents trudging off to work in those steel monstrosities that define the area. The neighborhood and type of industry in this narrative are at the same time negligible and crucial.
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As my close friends, family members…co-workers…..random strangers (really anyone) can attest, I have no soft spot in my heart for Tim Tebow. My stance is firm: He is a BAD quarterback. Not bad in the sense that he has potential and doesn’t meet expectations (Michael Vick), or in the sense that he has been over-hyped and is really mediocre (Mark Sanchez). No, neither of those can explain Tebow. He has no hope of becoming a good quarterback. Oft compared to a fullback due the endless mounds of muscle wrapped around his frame, there is no doubt he is strong. It is a strength with which the football will never become acquaintanted. The argument can be made that plenty of trajectory impaired quarterback have succeeded in the NFL; namely Chad Pennington. Pennington is the most accurate quarterback of all time and still has naught to show for it. Tebow is not Pennington accurate. To cherry this inadequacy sundae, Tebow’s throwing motion is awful. The ball travels 270 degrees from set to release; a distance that translates into an extra step or two for the defender to close on the pass.
“But he is a winner.”
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As I sat in the heated seats of the car taking me to the airport at 5am, I struggled to keep my groggy eyes open. What kept them open were the neighborhoods of the refinery workers, dark and quiet, preparing for the coming work week. A week that for most will have no special meaning or impact. It’s just another in a lifetime of cold, dreary work weeks. For others it may mean another week of something far more desperate. Final dreams of being elsewhere come and pass before people wake to Monday morning at their likely far too low-paying jobs. Perhaps the chatter at the worksite will be of the football weekend that passed. The neighborhoods I saw this morning were of Chester, PA. Chester is an Eagles town. The Eagles missed the NFL playoffs. The people of this town will not recounting a dramatic Eagles win right now, as folks in Denver are sure to be doing.
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The Broncos backed into the playoffs after losing a game that would ensure their spot. They finished the season with an 8-8 record. In sports talk, that is not a “winning” season. In many sports fans’ minds, that is not a season worthy of a playoff spot. Yet, they are in the playoffs by winning just enough games against the right teams. Their season included a six game win streak that was the catalyst to further polarize the national audience. My view of Tebow is not unique, nor is it scarce. I do find myself as the lone voice on this side of the argument more often that I would have ever thought, though, which is what inspired this post.
Last night, Tebow played well. I concede that he made many good throws, and his quarterbacking was the reason that Denver ended up with more points. I want you all to read that last sentence, as I do not often admit I am wrong.
Here come the three words that always follow admitting one is wrong…
You ready?
THAT BEING SAID, Denver had home field advantage last night. They were 8-8 and the Steelers finished the season 12-4. Due to playoff seeding rules that manage to have at least one glaring reason for change every year, the Broncos “earned” home field advantage. And in Denver, it was such and advantage that due to the altitude the Steelers starting safety and leading tackler Ryan Clark was unable to play. A blood disorder that is aggravated at high altitudes had him sidelined the whole game, including the last play of the game that perhaps a starting safety would have been able to stop. Other scratches for the Steelers last night was their starting running back, and invaluable starting quarterback. Yes, Roethlisberger did play but it was more than obvious that he was on one bum wheel. If you look back to the winning streak Denver had, you’ll notice a similar theme: Denver winning in the 4th quarter or overtime by one score against a team missing many key players.
Tebow does not call his own plays. Every play that he runs is carefully called in to him from the sidelines. Last night, the last play of the game showed why Tebow’s athleticism is dangerous. Pittsburgh jammed the box with enough men to stop any run, and running is the strong part of Tebow’s game. That run never happened. I’m sure there is a stat head out there that found that pass to be one of the longest to end an overtime playoff game, or some other meaningless history nugget. But, Tebow doesn’t decide when he runs and when he throws. His coaches do. Last night, Tebow executed in a way we have not seen out of him yet, which in a reactionary league as the NFL is will cause talking heads to exclaim that 400 yard games are in his near future. Mike Ditka says STOP IT. He only completed 10 passes last night, but they just happened to be for big yards. Back-up quarterbacks during 4th quarter garbage time in a blowout complete more passes.
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When I think of Tebow, I think of my Uncle Tim. Tim is a good man who has seen some tough times. He is a fairly new Coloradoer…Coloradian…Coloradander. Tebow cheers him up on Sunday afternoons before another uncertain week. Chester, PA is not unique. People everywhere need something to believe in, and Tebow represents that in the rockier part of our great nation. Tim Tebow is inspirational to Christians across the country, to the sick children he visits in hospitals, to the Uncle teaching his twin baby girls how to bend down on one knee like Tebow does after a victory. He shows that there are people in the entertainment industry that truly love their trade, and can find time to be truly altruistic.
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I thought to myself last night, as I vehemently rooted against the Broncos, that I desperately want to be right about him and he’ll never succeed as a quarterback. Sure, I’d catch a few “He’s a winner!” zingers at work, or I’ll open my email to a stranger Tebowing, and I’d lose even more of my ESPN viewing hours to the topic if he wins. I can live with that though. Cynics will joke that Tebow is in God’s favor (which may be true since everyone knows God hates the Steelers), and some crazy people will actually believe it. Another win will further his superhero legacy, and I will be annoyed at work.
I thought to myself this morning about the light that glowed in the misty dark from every fourth or fifth bedroom and the person who had just switched it on, and I thought about all the lights flicking on in other cities as people start another grueling week. I thought about whether they even watched football or not, and if they stumbled upon my 1300 or so words on the topic, would even 10 of them matter?
Football is this funny American sport that turns men into legends. It's a sport so embedded into our heritage in such a short time, that the men who played only half a century ago seem as if they were superheroes. But, there is no magic or superpowers involved in winning a game. Most of the time it is preparation, sometimes better physical ability, and occasionally dumb luck that will win a game. I do not hate Tim Tebow, despite what it may sound like when I snap at yet another person who says unequivocally that he’s a winner (an argument that I find both unoriginal and lazy). I do believe he is a bad quarterback, but that is only secondary to what he is first; a very good human being. And if either one of those things makes even one person happy, or that bedroom light just a little easier to turn on, what kind of person am I to root against it?
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