Tim Tebow - The Man We Hate To Love To Hate

       Unless you have been under a rock for the last half decade you have heard of Tim Tebow. The guy is everywhere. He is the former Heisman and National Championship winning quarterback from the University of Florida, outspoken (understatement) Christian, Philipino surgeon, and current "savior" of the Denver Broncos. He is the football media's Captain America: a shining example of what is great and wonderful in the world. He does no wrong. He is so pure that it is easy to make him the brunt of jokes, especially when it comes to his faith (a recent SNL skit and now infamous Bill Maher tweet come to mind). The problem here is that he is so nice that you hate to hate him. Hating him is like hating a baby panda.

Try it. I dare you.

       This post is not meant to specifically make fun of Tim Tebow. He is a very gifted athlete and all around decent human being. What he chooses to do (or not do) in the bedroom is his business, regardless of the millions of women that would give it up in a second were he to only ask.

Seriously, man. You're killing me.

       No, I only mean to suggest that much of his hype is due to the repeated vocalization of his faith. Let us consider his accomplishments this season. To the numbers:

       Upon getting the starting nod in Week 7, the Tebow-led Broncos went 7-4 in the regular season. In those seven wins, with the exception of a 14-point victory over Oakland, the Broncos won by an average score of 3.8 points, all of which against non-playoff (read: bad) teams. In the four losses, the Broncos were defeated by an average score of 20.8 points, three of which were playoff (read: good) teams.

       For the sake of argument, I will speak as though Tebow is solely responsible for the outcome of the games as the media does. Tebow beat seven non-playoff teams and lost to three playoff teams and one non-playoff team (Buffalo). Could it not be argued that these games were won in spite of him? He barely beat teams with a combined record of 48-64. Yes, he had several fourth quarter comebacks this season. However, it could be argued that the comebacks would have been unnecessary had the game been played with quality quarterbacking in the first three quarters. Tebow's quarterback rating in the first three quarters during the regular season was 65.1. By comparison, of the 33 quarterbacks to play enough for a quarterback rating this season, the median player was Kevin Kolb, of the non-playoff Cardinals, with an 81.1 rating. The question must be asked: how much different would the Broncos scores look with a more efficient passer behind the center? You could bring up Kyle Orton, but that's the beauty of a hypothetical question. We'll never know. The numbers do show that with Orton at QB the Broncos averaged 20.6 points per game, compared to Tebow's 18.5, so take that for what you will.

       I'd like to bring the conversation back to topic by re-visiting a point I made above. The media has given sole responsibility to Tebow for the team's success. They seem to completely overlook the fact that football is a TEAM sport. Let us not forget that he is backed up by the number one rushing offense in the entire league, usually found to be a staple of a successful young QB (see: Roethlisberger, Sanchez). Or how about the fact that he was only able to score more than 18 points in two of his wins? In a time of offensive explosion, 18 points has become the sign of a sputtering offense. Therefore, should credit not be given to the defense for keeping the other team to less than 18? It is true that at the end of the game the only thing that matters is the final score, but at the same time Tebow is lauded as the savior of the season, the Mile High Messiah, with no credit given to any other piece of the team. Could this be, at least in part, a result of wanting to see such a pure, devoutly religious figure be successful in a league littered with scandal and felonies?

       Tebow-mania came to a frenzied head this weekend as the Broncos defeated the Steelers in an AFC Wildcard game in overtime. Any headline you read likely cited Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime as the reason behind the win, making it sound as though he heaved the ball four-fifths of a football field to a receiver for the victory. Here is the play. It appears to me that the receiver, Demaryius Thomas, did most of the work on the play in fending off more than one defender while running 60 yards to the end zone. All Tebow did was throw a 20-yard pass to a wide open receiver (a throw he short-hopped the series before) and let Thomas do the rest of the work. It then took less than a day for a link to be made between his total passing yards in the game, 316, and his favorite Bible verse, John 3:16. To many, this is clear proof that his belief in God is leading to wins on the football field.

       Assuming that this isn't completely ridiculous and that God has chosen to spend his time fixing American football games and not feeding the hungry or curing the sick, let's analyze this idea. How is it that God receives all the credit from Tebow for wins (here or here or any time he opens his mouth) yet God is never blamed when Tebow loses? If He (God) has a direct impact on victories then logically He must also be responsible for defeats. In fact, Tebow himself takes all the blame in defeats, especially in a now famous speech he gave in college after a loss to Ole Miss. He promises the fans that they, "...will never see any player in the entire country work as hard as [he] will play the rest of the season." If Tebow's talent is all thanks to God, then he can't accept credit for being such a hard worker and a winner because both are out of his control.

       In closing, if you truly believe that Tebow's outspoken faith is not a factor in his fame and the credit he receives for the team's wins then ask yourself this: what if he were praising Allah after every victory?

       One final note to faith-based Tebow fans: correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't a few of the commandments to not have any other Gods and to not bow down to a false idol? (They are. They're the first two. I'm being facetious.)

See you in Hell.