Today, along with what seemed like the rest of the nation, I watched as the Denver Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Of course, the story of the game was Tim Tebow. With all of the insane hype and coverage that followed him during the entire regular season, it all seemed to reach the ultimate boiling point this afternoon as he played in a playoff game that many had christened as his “do or die game.” Well, in the middle of the spotlight during the last game of the Wild Card weekend Tebow shined.
I have said over this platform before, I am a Tim Tebow fan. I started to really root for him after his famous speech following the Ole Miss loss in 2008. After following him for the 2008 and 2009 college seasons I really hoped he would get a decent shot in the NFL. After he got selected in the draft and I watched “Tim Tebow: Everything In Between”, I knew I was going to hope for nothing but success when he started his NFL career. If you have never seen that documentary before, honestly youtube it, I rank it as one of the best sports documentaries I have ever seen. As he began his NFL career and I saw what he was up against from fellow players/coaches/front office people in the league along with the media, he had my support.
So as you can probably guess, I am relishing in TT’s success while also smiling at all the different people and entities who are hating it. I love it how all my friends who hate Tebow have to throw their hands in the air and wonder how he did it again. I love reading all of the posts on Twitter and Facebook from various users complaining that they are going to have to hear nothing but “Tim Tebow” for the next week. Most of all, I love it how various sports media personalities have to grudgingly cover him for six more days and continue to dissect his game. That is what this post is mainly for, to laugh at the media and ask if they can finally start to give TT a little bit of respect.
Pretty much ever since 2008 when there was talk about Tebow’s chances in the NFL, the sports media, and I am going to single out ESPN especially, has had an obsession about how he would impact the league. For the most part, it has all been negative. For the most part, it is still negative. Believe me, if Tebow never produced on the field then of course I would understand that there would be mostly unflattering coverage on him. It doesn’t matter if it is politics, music, writing, or sports…if you don’t perform you are not going to receive positive reviews. But Tebow has produced. I don’t think there is a single person who could take an oath and say they believe that he has been treated fairly by the media.
The season started and the media said he was a waste. The season started, Orton got hurt, and Tebow came in relief and showed great potential…the sports world said the Broncos needed to make a move and bring in a replacement quarterback, that Tebow could definitely not continue on in the season. TT then took the Broncos on a great ride, guiding them on a winning streak and to a top spot in the AFC West. The media discounted it as a fluke and as an unconventional style experiencing initial success that will soon taper off. Then the three game skid occurred and it started to rain down on Tebow. Fast forward to today and 300+ passing yards later and a playoff victory under his belt and I still really don’t anticipate much acclaim for #15 when the media reflects on everything tomorrow morning.
Now I know Tebow has Skip Bayless in his corner but other than that, he really has little support or respect from the media. My biggest issue with this is the lack of a chance that was ever given to Tebow and the ignorance that has followed it. I watch/listen/read to what people say about Tebow and I really can’t believe that they will not take a step back, recognize what Tebow has done, give the guy some credit, and then maybe admit that they were wrong. But I am competent enough to realize that media personalities have egos and they are not going to fess up to a mistake they have made. I think Tebow would probably have to win a couple of Super Bowls for that to happen.
I am hoping for great things on Saturday night as the Broncos take on the Patriots in New England. Denver is already a +13.5 underdog in the game but with Tim Tebow leading the way you never know. Don’t Blink.