It's been awhile since we've seen an athlete, let alone a quarterback, who has caused such a divide amongst the sports world's fan population.
When it comes to Tim Tebow, nobody is on the fence. You either love him or you hate him. The question is why? We know why people love him: He's the quintessential underdog. He's an inspiration to a slew of God-loving fans who, prior to Tebow's rise, didn't have an idol to identify with. He's a winner and, if you're a woman, you might also think he's attractive. He's one of the good guys.
The Tebow hatred is confounding but it's not complex. In a society filled with conformists who march in lockstep with an image forced upon them by clothing designers, musicians and pop culture, we can't stand anyone who goes against the grain. Even in the Barack Obama era, people are still opposed to change. Tim Tebow is different. He's more likely to pick up a Bible than a chick, more known to quote Matthew than Lil Wayne and is more the type to kick it at Sunday mass than to crack a beer at Buffalo Wild Wings. He isn't OUR type of quarterback. He's not a guy's guy like Brett Favre. He doesn't put up Drew Brees-esque numbers. He doesn't have an arm like Peyton Manning. He isn't as breathtaking a runner as Michael Vick. All he does is win.
And, really, isn't that why he's here? Tebow's style might be ugly but it gets the desired end result. However, in a world where athletes have to do things OUR way, that's just not good enough for us. People didn't care how LeBron James left Cleveland last summer. They just didn't like that he rubbed it people's faces. People didn't care that Roger Maris' single-season home run record got shattered. They just preferred it be done by someone not juiced up to look like Paul Bunyan or by an egomaniac with a reputation for being a self-absorbed prick. Tim Tebow's win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, in which he stuck it to a Steelers defense that completely underestimated his ability to throw a football and shocked a national audience that mostly believed his failure at Mile High was preordained, was the kind of fairy tale W that you see in predictable sports movies. Only in the "Rocky" movies does the underdog overcome the long odds and emerge triumphant in the closing moments against their heavily-favored adversary.
When it comes to Tim Tebow, nobody is on the fence. You either love him or you hate him. The question is why? We know why people love him: He's the quintessential underdog. He's an inspiration to a slew of God-loving fans who, prior to Tebow's rise, didn't have an idol to identify with. He's a winner and, if you're a woman, you might also think he's attractive. He's one of the good guys.
The Tebow hatred is confounding but it's not complex. In a society filled with conformists who march in lockstep with an image forced upon them by clothing designers, musicians and pop culture, we can't stand anyone who goes against the grain. Even in the Barack Obama era, people are still opposed to change. Tim Tebow is different. He's more likely to pick up a Bible than a chick, more known to quote Matthew than Lil Wayne and is more the type to kick it at Sunday mass than to crack a beer at Buffalo Wild Wings. He isn't OUR type of quarterback. He's not a guy's guy like Brett Favre. He doesn't put up Drew Brees-esque numbers. He doesn't have an arm like Peyton Manning. He isn't as breathtaking a runner as Michael Vick. All he does is win.
And, really, isn't that why he's here? Tebow's style might be ugly but it gets the desired end result. However, in a world where athletes have to do things OUR way, that's just not good enough for us. People didn't care how LeBron James left Cleveland last summer. They just didn't like that he rubbed it people's faces. People didn't care that Roger Maris' single-season home run record got shattered. They just preferred it be done by someone not juiced up to look like Paul Bunyan or by an egomaniac with a reputation for being a self-absorbed prick. Tim Tebow's win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, in which he stuck it to a Steelers defense that completely underestimated his ability to throw a football and shocked a national audience that mostly believed his failure at Mile High was preordained, was the kind of fairy tale W that you see in predictable sports movies. Only in the "Rocky" movies does the underdog overcome the long odds and emerge triumphant in the closing moments against their heavily-favored adversary.
If there's a precedent here for the love 'em-or-hate 'em take on Tebow, it might very well be Maris himself back in 1961(which, naturally, was immortalized in Billy Crystal's excellent movie, 61*). Maris, like Tebow, was just a humble kid who had a love for the game but found himself to be a fish out of water as a farm boy entering the concrete jungle of New York City. Roger Maris wasn't a New Yorker's kind of Yankee. He wasn't Mickey Mantle or Babe Ruth or even Joe D. He just played ball and played it really well and, despite people in his own stands rooting against him, Maris laughed in the face of adversity and broke Babe Ruth's home run record. Years later, Maris died never getting the respect he rightfully deserved because he wasn't the kind of magnetic personality that Mantle or Ruth were.
Tebow is a bit more outgoing than Maris ever was but he's by no means Madison Avenue's next cash cow. Still, he's captivating. I fancy myself as anti-religion atheist, and I like Tim Tebow. I don't agree with his religious views and he'll never be as dear to my heart as the great Aaron Rodgers but he plays the game the right way. He may not play it the way it has traditionally been played for decades, but that's another reason I like him. General managers and coaches always scour the draft trying to find the "next" somebody: The "next Peyton Manning", the "next Tom Brady", the "next Brett Favre". There will never, EVER, be another Tim Tebow. And I don't even mean in the "Aw, shucks, I love Jesus" holy roller sense(though I doubt we see another one of those either. Before Tebow, the closest thing we had to a religious sports icon was Jon Kitna). There is no mold you could put Tebow in and say "he's just like (insert name here)". What you are watching is a true original: A quarterback who runs like a fullback and throws like a professional softball pitcher. Nowadays, your elite QB's fall into a handful of molds or prototypes:
*The Peyton Manning mold: Tall, statuesque passers who never leave the pocket(mainly because their speed limitations won't let them) and beat you with a strong arm and high football IQ. Guys who fit this mold? The Manning brothers, any QB prior to Steve Young, Carson Palmer, Warren Moon, Phillip Rivers and, inevitably, Andrew Luck.
*The Brett Favre mold: Strong-armed QB's with a flair for the dramatic who overtrust their cannon and try to make plays that aren't there by trying to overthrow the defense, which often leads to either a big play or a maddeningly stupid turnover. Most commonly known as "gunslingers". Guys who fit the mold? Favre, Rex Grossman, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford, J.P. Losman and, even before Favre, Jeff George.
*The Tom Brady mold: Tall, lean passers who can make plays with their feet but are by no means mistaken for scramblers More accurate than Favre types but don't possess a howitzer for an arm yet can throw the deep ball well and have good zip on their fastball. They look like surfboarders, which is to be expected because they mostly hail from the West Coast and possess that "Cali swagger". Guys who fit the mold? Brady, Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, former Bills QB Rob Johnson, Mark Sanchez.
*The John Elway mold: Like Peyton Manning types in that they are tall, big bodied QB's with strong arms, except they also have nimble feet that allow them to move around in the pocket and even break loose on the occasional scamper when the play breaks down. Guys who fit the mold? Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Donovan McNabb(later in his career, after injuries limited his mobility and willingness to scramble), JaMarcus Russell, Daunte Culpepper. Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III kind of fit this mold as well because they are pass-first, thick-built passers but they also have the speed and athleticism to be more of a threat with their legs than the other guys mentioned here.
*The Mike Vick mold: Always thinking run first, then throw because they exceptional speed and are more likely to blow by defenders with their uncanny quickness than trying to squeeze a pass through tight coverage. Slimmer than Elway types, making them more susceptible to injury but are also much faster. They do possess the strong arm requisite to make plays in the pocket but don't always have the most accurate of arms, making scrambling the most reliable option. Guys who fit the mold? Vick, Vince Young, Terrelle Pryor, Randall Cunningham.
*The Joe Montana mold: Pretty much the default comparison for any QB that doesn't possess elite size or arm strength. Most commonly found in guys who are under 6'3. They beat defenses with precision passing as opposed to throwing bombs downfield. Excel in offenses that rely heavily on short, quick accurate passes. Guys who fit the mold? Montana, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner(though Warner and Brees have better arms than given credit for), Colt McCoy.
*The Tim Tebow mold: Glorified option QB's with the size and speed that makes them a threat outside of the pocket because they are fast enough to get by the front seven and big enough to be difficult to bring down. Like LeBron James in basketball, they are usually too quick for the bigs and too big for the quicks. Can make plays with their arm but they don't normally possess the ability to throw the deep ball or elite accuracy. Guys who fit the mold? Tebow. That's it. That's the list. If there's anyone comparable, you could make the case for Quincy Carter(who excelled in the option when he was Dallas) or, from a build standpoint, Cam Newton but both Carter and Newton were more polished passers than Tebow.
Time will tell how this Disney-esque Tebow story plays out. All signs point to ending in Foxboro when Tebow squares off against another overhyped signal caller who broke into the league amidst much scrutiny and doubters: Tom Brady. To make the story more compelling, the guy that believed enough in Tebow to draft him as his franchise QB, Josh McDaniels, will be on the opposing sidelines trying to cook up a game plan for Brady to match the attack of the monster McDaniels helped create a couple years ago. It's the perfect story of two men who overcame long odds to be the poster child for a nation's adoration and anger.
You'll either love it or hate it.
Tebow is a bit more outgoing than Maris ever was but he's by no means Madison Avenue's next cash cow. Still, he's captivating. I fancy myself as anti-religion atheist, and I like Tim Tebow. I don't agree with his religious views and he'll never be as dear to my heart as the great Aaron Rodgers but he plays the game the right way. He may not play it the way it has traditionally been played for decades, but that's another reason I like him. General managers and coaches always scour the draft trying to find the "next" somebody: The "next Peyton Manning", the "next Tom Brady", the "next Brett Favre". There will never, EVER, be another Tim Tebow. And I don't even mean in the "Aw, shucks, I love Jesus" holy roller sense(though I doubt we see another one of those either. Before Tebow, the closest thing we had to a religious sports icon was Jon Kitna). There is no mold you could put Tebow in and say "he's just like (insert name here)". What you are watching is a true original: A quarterback who runs like a fullback and throws like a professional softball pitcher. Nowadays, your elite QB's fall into a handful of molds or prototypes:
*The Peyton Manning mold: Tall, statuesque passers who never leave the pocket(mainly because their speed limitations won't let them) and beat you with a strong arm and high football IQ. Guys who fit this mold? The Manning brothers, any QB prior to Steve Young, Carson Palmer, Warren Moon, Phillip Rivers and, inevitably, Andrew Luck.
*The Brett Favre mold: Strong-armed QB's with a flair for the dramatic who overtrust their cannon and try to make plays that aren't there by trying to overthrow the defense, which often leads to either a big play or a maddeningly stupid turnover. Most commonly known as "gunslingers". Guys who fit the mold? Favre, Rex Grossman, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford, J.P. Losman and, even before Favre, Jeff George.
*The Tom Brady mold: Tall, lean passers who can make plays with their feet but are by no means mistaken for scramblers More accurate than Favre types but don't possess a howitzer for an arm yet can throw the deep ball well and have good zip on their fastball. They look like surfboarders, which is to be expected because they mostly hail from the West Coast and possess that "Cali swagger". Guys who fit the mold? Brady, Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, former Bills QB Rob Johnson, Mark Sanchez.
*The John Elway mold: Like Peyton Manning types in that they are tall, big bodied QB's with strong arms, except they also have nimble feet that allow them to move around in the pocket and even break loose on the occasional scamper when the play breaks down. Guys who fit the mold? Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Donovan McNabb(later in his career, after injuries limited his mobility and willingness to scramble), JaMarcus Russell, Daunte Culpepper. Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III kind of fit this mold as well because they are pass-first, thick-built passers but they also have the speed and athleticism to be more of a threat with their legs than the other guys mentioned here.
*The Mike Vick mold: Always thinking run first, then throw because they exceptional speed and are more likely to blow by defenders with their uncanny quickness than trying to squeeze a pass through tight coverage. Slimmer than Elway types, making them more susceptible to injury but are also much faster. They do possess the strong arm requisite to make plays in the pocket but don't always have the most accurate of arms, making scrambling the most reliable option. Guys who fit the mold? Vick, Vince Young, Terrelle Pryor, Randall Cunningham.
*The Joe Montana mold: Pretty much the default comparison for any QB that doesn't possess elite size or arm strength. Most commonly found in guys who are under 6'3. They beat defenses with precision passing as opposed to throwing bombs downfield. Excel in offenses that rely heavily on short, quick accurate passes. Guys who fit the mold? Montana, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner(though Warner and Brees have better arms than given credit for), Colt McCoy.
*The Tim Tebow mold: Glorified option QB's with the size and speed that makes them a threat outside of the pocket because they are fast enough to get by the front seven and big enough to be difficult to bring down. Like LeBron James in basketball, they are usually too quick for the bigs and too big for the quicks. Can make plays with their arm but they don't normally possess the ability to throw the deep ball or elite accuracy. Guys who fit the mold? Tebow. That's it. That's the list. If there's anyone comparable, you could make the case for Quincy Carter(who excelled in the option when he was Dallas) or, from a build standpoint, Cam Newton but both Carter and Newton were more polished passers than Tebow.
Time will tell how this Disney-esque Tebow story plays out. All signs point to ending in Foxboro when Tebow squares off against another overhyped signal caller who broke into the league amidst much scrutiny and doubters: Tom Brady. To make the story more compelling, the guy that believed enough in Tebow to draft him as his franchise QB, Josh McDaniels, will be on the opposing sidelines trying to cook up a game plan for Brady to match the attack of the monster McDaniels helped create a couple years ago. It's the perfect story of two men who overcame long odds to be the poster child for a nation's adoration and anger.
You'll either love it or hate it.
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