A Man For All Football Seasons

Of course, the headline above refers to Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos -- and I make no apology for the fact that I have concealed my ride on his bandwagon.

Let's call this your humble scribe's "Tim Tebow  Outing."

In my estimation there is absolutely nothing to dislike about the guy. In fact, when you probe behind the "elephant in the room" religious crap every time he's mentioned, you will discover a man who cares about kids with cancer, and who returns thousands each year to people in need through his Foundation.

You see, Tim and I go way back. I had an opportunity to follow his career as a Florida Gator when I lived in a state where football is, indeed, the Official State Religion.

I guess you can also say almost the same for Georgia and Alabama and, to a lesser extent by a smidgen) Louisiana.

The Florida Gators of the Tim Tebow Era were magnificently coached under Urban Meyer, immensely talented on both sides of the ball, and played football the way it was meant to be played -- with an incomparable elan absent trash-talking bravado.

About the only complaints anyone ever registered against the Gators back in those days were directed at Tim himself -- for printing Bible Quotes on his eye-black patches.

Let's get the elephant out of the room right now...

As the son of missionary parents, Tim has convinced himself that his belief in and worship of Jesus Christ are crucial components of his DNA -- and that's OK by me. He's not the first athlete, nor will he be the last, to wear his religion on his sleeve.

So that we can get back to ...

In their magical 2008 season, the Gators won a BCS national collegiate championship by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners. Tim accomplished this feat as a Junior, and he quickly announced that he would return to Gainesvaille for his Senior Year to see whether or not he could help his coaches and his team win a second consecutive championship.

Indeed, the Gators of 2009 almost pulled it off. But their aspirations were derailed by Alabama in the SEC title game. As a consequence of their only loss of that season, the Gators were bypassed for their second consecutive appearance in the BCS' Marquee Game.

Nevertheless, UF went on to record an impressive win over Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, to become the first college team ever to record back-to-back 13 game winning seasons.

But that was then, and this is now.

I freely admit I was elated when the Denver Broncos selected Tim in the First Round  of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Few know this, but the subtle differences between the NFL Game and Top-Flight NCAA Football are like the differences between "daylight and darkness."

No amount of preparation against the likes of Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma or any of the other big college football programs can guarantee a college player's success -- particularly that of a quarterback -- in the NFL, whose players are bigger, smarter, stronger and faster than those competing at the college level.

It's the rare college athlete who possesses ability to play NFL football in his rookie year -- and we usually find them playing as nose tackle or defensive end.

Offensive players -- especially quarterbacks -- must learn the Play Book and then practice-practice-practice to perfect their execution and timing between their positions, and those worked out by the coaching staff for backs and receivers.

Indeed, it's complicated and like fine wine this takes Time. But know this: no player in the NFL studies the game of football harder, nor practices with more concentration & intensity than Tebow, who knows and understands his short-comings and is, and will, work hard to overcome them.

If you'll recall, Tim got four starts in the 2010 Season and registered so-so performances -- what did the Bronco Honchos like John Elway expect?

Then came The Lockout by NFL Owners. Consequently, NFL Players were forbidden to practice as teams. As it turned out, the Owners and the NFL Players' Association were able to square things away so that the regular football season could get underway in September.

As far as I can ascertain, Tim was the only Denver quarterback to report to Training Camp in playing shape. But he had a Problem: Elway and the coaches ranked Tim Third on their Depth Chart -- meaning he was either (a) trade bait, or (b) he would ride the bench and get into games if -- and only if -- the two QBs ahead of him were injured.

As everyone East of the Rocky Mountains and West of Foxboro, Massachusetts now knows, Tim took over when the Broncos lost those two QBs ahead of him -- Denver had an 0-4 record at the time.

Despite an unprecedented battering from the Sports Media & Commentary Crews on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN and all of the rest, History will record Tebow went on to win the next six games. Despite dropping two of its final three games, Denver squeaked into the NFL Playoffs as their Conference Champs albeit with an 8-8 record.

Nobody except Denverites gave the Broncos any chance against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers -- but we all know what happened.

And nobody -- myself included -- gives Tebow & Co. much of a chance against Tom Brady & Co.

We shall see...

(Best lift quote of the week goes out to Bernard McGuirk of the "Imus In The Morning Show" for airing the following: "Saturday night, it's Jesus against Gentlemen's Quarterly at Foxboro.")

To wrap this up, allow me to make a final point. All tallied, Tim Tibow has made 15 NFL starts. His stats suggest that, at this stage of his career, Tim is ahead of NFL greats such as Terry Bradshaw and Phil Simms -- both of who were written off by the media and some fans early-on in their careers.

If Tebow & Co. somehow manages to beat New England Saturday night, and then go on to win against either Baltimore or Houston in the AFC Championship Game, the viewership for the Super Bowl -- especially if the Broncos face either New York or Green Bay -- would be astronomical.

For Tim, it would constitute Redemption, right here on Earth.

I Promised I Wouldn't, But ...

I swore on a stack of Bibles that I wouldn't bring Sarah Palin up again in any of my postings.

But something happened to change my mind.

All I'll say is this: while watching the History Channel at Dartmouth-Hitchcock last week, the channel promoted a new series featuring Larry The Cable Guy -- who everyone west of the Atlantic and east of the Pacific knows is the originator of the most obnoxious phrase ever uttered by the Human Species:
"Gitter Done!"

Seems Ole Larry (and I am not making this up) will launch his show by joining good Ole Mamma Grizzley, via video tape, for some Moose Hunting up in Alaska.

To which I can only add this photo of their "expedition."

I'll leave it to you decide whether it's Larry or Sarah strapped to the roof...

(A mega tip of the hat to Mr. Four Finger Wu for supplying the artwork!)

Inquiring Minds Want To Know ...

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here's hoping 2012 delivers a bountiful harvest of good health, prosperity and peace to all.

My New Year's Resolution involves a promise to examine each and every aspect of my life from the qualitative perspective, and as such, this shall be My Year of Inquiry on numerous levels.

I promise I won't wax too philosophical in this pursuit: I'll just accept this task with the zeal of the somewhat dyslexic metaphysician that I am.

The exercise, of course, will require frequent periods of Peace and Quiet to sort everything out. And what better opportunity could arise, to set aside this time, than my almost daily 120-minute commute from my home in Unity to Dartmouth and back?

So to get my head into shape, I decided to tackle a few "softballs" o t several appealing to my sense of humor - before diving into any Heavy Stuff.

For instance:

A. Why is it that, every time I drive up to Dartmouth, they send me over to the Phlebotomy Department where a technician draws about a half-liter of my blood from my body?

My problem is: my body lacks the ability to manufacture blood.

I want to get to the bottom of this ASAP due to the fact that I have been poked more times in the past three months than a Saigon Madam.

B. What's up with the Dallas Cowboys Merchandising Department?

Seems the Cowboys have all of their fan-related stuff that sells for Top US Dollar - game shirts, jackets, caps, you-name it - made in Cambodia by women who make less than 30-cents per hour.

The erstwhile "America's Team" actually owns the factories in Cambodia and signs off on the managers who run these sweatshops.

If "America's Team" wants to peddle stuff to its fans - 99.99995% of whom reside in the USA - might it make sense that the 'Boys manufacture their merchandise in America?

Just asking ...

C. How can a college football team that didn't even win its conference be chosen to play for the NCAA's BCS National Championship?

Who anointed Alabama as the No. 2-ranked college team? (Answer: a computer did!)

I have no quarrel with LSU being anointed the Nation's No. 1 Team, but unless and until the NCAA adopts a real playoff system to determine the nation's best college team, the BCS' final bowl game will be a sham.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

D. Why does February contain 28 days for three years, and then on the fourth year, it's added one more day to bring its total to 29?

Can't the Calendar Kings just borrow a day from, say December and from March, and set every February to an even and consistent 30 days?

E. Finally, have you noticed what has been happening to the pump prices of gasoline? Since New Year's Day, the price per-gallon in my neighborhood has jumped 22-cents per gallon.

Maybe an answer can be found embedded in this little Gem: last year, the New Hampshire Legislature dropped the State Cigarettes Tax by 20-cents, per pack, in the belief that the tax reduction would lure smokers from Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts here to save a few bucks per-carton.

Guess what? As soon as the tax reduction went into effect on Oct. 1st, the Butt Manufacturers raised their prices by 20-cents per pack!

What a country...