An old friend of mine from Junior High School was nice enough to guest blog for me, on a topic that’s had me curious for a quite some bit of time. Knowing virtually nothing about football, I figured since I have a three year old boy, I’d better start learning.
Please note, this blog was written before last night’s loss…
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Love him or hate him Tim Tebow has been a ratings bonanza all year for sports networks. ESPN is the main network capitalizing off this and for me the whole thing has been sickening.
To be honest I don’t understand the obsession with Tim Tebow and in the interest of full disclosure I like him as a person and I respect his faith. However I often ask myself, “Why is there all of this fuss over an average quarterback?” If you are a Tebow fan reading that last line most likely has you outraged. You are probably screaming at your computer saying, “All he does is win.” No the team wins. Tebow plays a small part.
Tebow fans will point out that he had a better record than Denver’s previous starter Kyle Orton. They will point out that that he just beat the Steelers, who have one of the best defenses in the league. His fans will gloss over the fact that the combined record of the teams is woeful and the Steelers played without 3 people on their defensive line and their starting Safety. Not to mention t he fat that Ben Roethlisberger played the game on one foot. Now I understand why people love him. I even understand how they might love him to the point of being irrational. However in my mind there are many reasons that people have been slow to warm up to him.
There are many who don’t think he has earned all of this adulation. He was basically given the starting job in Denver because of public outcry, not because of performance. In his 23 games he has averaged 15 passes a game. In this new pass happy NFL this indicates his own coaches don’t trust him to pass the ball. Honestly why should they, he only completes 47% of his passes. In 14 starts this year he fumbled 7 times, which means every other game he is good for a fumble. That is far below the standards of even a competent quarterback. If you had the choice between Tim Tebow and Tavaris Jackson, the starter for the Seattle Seahawks who would you pick? Most people would say Tebow, yet Tavaris Jackson completes 59% of his passes for his career. Far better than Tebow’s completion percentage. The knock on Donovan McNabb throughout his career has been his accuracy yet he completes almost 60% of his passes for his career and has been to a Super Bowl. So you see the media is talking about Tebow every day when there are other players who are better than him who don’t get noticed at all. This causes backlash. There are also two things that Donovan McNabb and Tavaris Jackson have in common they are black.
This leads me to the racial component of the Tebow debate. If you know me, you know I am not a fan of the race card at all but in this case it is very relevant. For years black quarterbacks who ran like Tebow and passed like him were passed over for starting jobs in the NFL. Many of them were forced to switch positions. Kordell Stewart is the first one that comes to mind. He was a very good quarterback in college and when he came into the NFL they made him play receiver and other odd positions. They called him slash they made him earn his way to QB. In 2001 Kordell Stewart went 13-3 and had a career year. Two years later he was out of the league. He was out of the league for being an average quarterback, something Tebow is celebrated for. The media constantly questions black quarterbacks. Can Cam Newton be good? Can Michael Vick be good? Cam Newton broke the rookie record for passing and all we heard about all year was Tim Tebow. Believe me some blacks have an issue with that. Most black quarterbacks don’t get a chance to stink up the joint like Tebow has.
Finally there is a religious component to all of this. I am Christian man so I have no issue with Tebow’s faith. I have no problem with constantly talking about it either. With all the junk I have to hear from athletes Tim Tebow is a welcome breath of fresh air. The issue I have is that some Christians are fanatics who think just because Tebow is a Christian he cannot be criticized. There are some who think a criticism of Tebow is a criticism of Christianity. Some even think just because he is a Christian he will be successful as an NFL QB. Although I am a Christian, I would not consider myself a bible expert but usually if you follow your religious beliefs it makes you a better person, a better husband or wife, a better mother or dad. I am not sure being a Christian will make you win a Super Bowl. Christians will tell you if you criticize Tebow you are a hater. I am not a hater just a knowledgeable level headed sports fan.
Is Tebow a great guy? Yes he is without question. He is a great guy and a role model. All I am asking is when you mention all the great things he is you also throw in he is a below average, sub-par starting quarterback in the NFL.
-Guest Blogger Johnny Hampton
