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.
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