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His name is Tim Tebow. He is a second-year quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He has defied the football insiders, the so-called experts, who proclaimed he couldn’t be a NFL quarterback. He has shamed the cynics who dripped with scorn at this embodiment of a naive Goody Two-shoes. And while these self-styled experts and realists continue to doubt him, Tebow’s teammates and fans have no such doubts. The legend grows.
It is not as if Tebow has come out of nowhere. He graduated from the University of Florida after leading that school to two national championships, but the NFL scouts were not impressed. There is a certain mindset in pro football about how a quarterback should stylistically perform. If you do not conform to their profile, the NFL establishment is likely to look down its nose at you. Some say he throws like a girl — worse, a left-handed girl.
Despite his storied Florida career, Tebow, the nation’s top-rated high school quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner as a sophomore, was selected 25th in the 2010 draft. After he mostly backed up starting quarterback Kyle Orton as a rookie, Tebow started the last three games of the season. He impressed no one. His head coach, Josh McDaniels, was fired and his team did not make the playoffs.
Denver hired John Fox as its head coach this season. Neither Fox nor Vice President of Football Operations John Elway believed Tebow had the requisite skills to be a successful pro quarterback. Elway, a virtual legend in Denver, had been one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. His opinion carried weight beyond Denver. Tebow returned to the bench this season except for a couple of brief appearances, through the first five weeks. During that time, the Broncos lost four games and appeared headed for yet another season out of the playoffs.
The football fans in Denver were restive. They knew of Tebow’s brilliance at the collegiate level. Football insiders notoriously mock fans for their emotional approach to the game. Fans are tolerated. Most organizations want fans to pay their money, cheer for the home team and defer to the experts.
That is especially true in Philly where the head coach only hears the cheers, but never the chants for him to be fired. Sometimes fans are ahead of the curve. The Denver fans figured, what is there to lose by giving Tebow a chance? Fox reluctantly yielded to fan pressure and, in desperation, started Tebow. Knowing Tebow could not run a normal pro offense where passing skills are a huge part, he tailored the offense to Tebow’s running and leadership skills. Tebow’s statistics were awful at times. The experts keeled over laughing at this anachronism of a football team, but the Broncos won anyway. It wasn’t only that Denver was winning; it was the way they were winning.
Miraculous comebacks became a weekly occurrence. Denver magically rose to first place in its division. What made Tebow’s success especially startling was that for the first three quarters of each game, he was horrible. It seemed as if he were waiting for the waning moments of games to perform his heroics. Because of his unorthodox throwing style and his modest statistics, Tebow’s doubters remain unconvinced. And despite his impeccable off-the field behavior, Tebow finds himself in the middle of a controversy firestorm.
There are two main reasons why the mere mention of Tebow ignites debate. Foremost, the pro football insiders don’t like to be wrong. They cling to the notion that there is only one way for a quarterback to be successful in the NFL. They scoff at Tebow’s success, downplay his responsibility for the victories and emphasize Denver’s admittedly excellent defense and terrific place kicker as the reasons why the Broncos are winning, but Denver had the same defense and place kicker in the first five weeks and they still lost. Indeed, Denver has been very lucky in many of their close wins. But NFL history suggests even luck has it limits.
Some media and fans root against Tebow because of his religious fervor. He wears his religion on his sleeve, but so do some other players, such as Eagles’ Jason Avant, who are actually well-liked by the same critics. Why the controversy over Tebow? The difference might be that Tebow appeared in a pro-life TV ad with his mother. Pro players normally shy away from controversial subjects. But with all the negative publicity surrounding professional athletes these days, how important is that ad?
Surely we have seen this movie before. It is directed by Frank Capra and stars either Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper. An angel played by Thomas Mitchell touches a last-place team with magic dust. Suddenly that team, heretofore a dismal failure, begins winning against all odds. At Christmas, children leave cookies and milk under the tree for the almost mythic hero. “He isn’t real,” the cynics cry. The miracle of Mile High City can’t last forever.
The cynics miss the point. Miracles are not supposed to last forever. The important thing about a miracle is that it happened at all. SPR
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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