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If You Can't Root for Tim Tebow, You Can't Root for America
Grantland.com ^ | 6/11/2013 | Andrew Sharp

Posted on 06/11/2013 12:14:44 PM PDT by Borges

This one wasn't in the playbook, folks.

In case you forgot, the media wanted Tim Tebow to fail.

He was supposed to walk away.

Fade into oblivion.

Retire.

Quit.

Guess somebody forgot to tell Tim.

Just when you thought it was over, we found out Monday afternoon the Tim Tebow show is just getting started. ESPN's Ed Werder broke the news. Tebow will sign a deal with the New England Patriots, and by Tuesday he'll be right back where he belongs. In pads and cleats, working to get better. Running. Throwing. Leading.

That’s what you probably don’t realize. The Patriots aren't just getting a great backup quarterback, the Patriots are getting an All-Pro teammate.

Tebow and The Patriot Way? A match made in heaven.

Say what you want about Tim Tebow the quarterback, but Tim Tebow the person just oozes class. And there’s not a classier organization in football than the New England Patriots. At its core, The Patriot Way is all about team. Where nobody wants credit, or respect, or highlights, or swag. They want results. They want character guys. There's a higher calling in New England, where they don't just win, but they win the right way, and then they go back to work. These are facts.

So, think about it.

Could you imagine a better fit for the kid who only knows how to win and never knew how to quit?

In retrospect, the only surprise is that it took this long for Tim to end up with Tom's Brady bunch.

It’s perfect. As Chris Berman once said, "I don't care whether people are Packers fans or whatever, I'll reiterate what we said, rooting for Favre is like rooting for America." That's how it feels with ol' number 15 and these Patriots.

Getting here hasn’t been easy, but of course it hasn’t.

Nothing worth doing ever is.

Tim was never given anything in this life. This quarterback was something like a Hail Mary, himself. Too short. Not athletic enough. Bad mechanics. They said he couldn't play quarterback. He was always a longshot. In college he turned into a superstar, he proved everyone wrong. When he got to the NFL, all he ever did was win. He impressed me, he impressed you, he impressed everyone.

But then Tim found out the hard way: Negativity sells with today's media.

So the more he won, the more he was crucified for poor decisions and poor throws. Eventually, all the negativity got him shipped to New York City, and that was a whole other story. He came to Manhattan pregnant with hope, but destined for an abortion. Rex Ryan was never going to give him a real chance.

Eventually, the Jets and that band of clowns laughed him right out of town. A winner surrounded by sinners can only do so much. And that was supposed to be the end of Tim Tebow in the NFL. The media won, and Rex got a jolly chuckle out of the whole thing.

We'll see who gets the last laugh in September.

As for the Patriots? For years now, they've been struggling to live down the stench of that one grave miscarriage of justice. Spygate. When Bill Belichick stopped going with the character that got him there and started cutting corners.

Ever since 2007, it's like karma's been running an all-out blitz, sacking the Patriots every single year. One misstep, and they’ve never danced the same way again.

And I can't help but notice the timing here.

If you read the news, there's another kind of spygate dominating headlines these days. America’s Spygate. Whistleblowers are in the news, but nobody’s talking about Coach Belichick. Instead, morale is at an all-time low, we can't trust our leaders, and the whole train is running right off a cliff. Now, we don't have to get too political here, but wouldn't it be nice if America had something to cheer for again?

Maybe Tim Tebow can be that something.

Maybe this Patriot act is what saves us.

Maybe this is what New England's needed all along, and Tim Tebow is the guy who comes in and stiff arms all that bad karma on the way to the Super Bowl. Maybe the playing field is America, the game is life, and Tim Tebow's here to turn all of us Patriots into champions again. Do you believe in miracles?

All I know is that Tim Tebow believes in hard work.

And even when nobody believed in Tim Tebow, Tim never forgot to believe in himself. Running. Throwing. Leading. Forever.

Now he's back where he belongs. On a football field, in the huddle, making plays. You might see all this and ask yourself: When are sports bigger than wins and losses and columns?

When we watch a football player, and suddenly we all forget how to complain and learn how to compete. When this injured world gets a cortisone shot full of hope. When a player takes the field in minicamp, turns teammates to friends, turns coaches to fans, and turns us all to believers.

Retire?

Quit?

Apologies to the media's playbook, but this Hail Mary is just getting started.


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: athletes; satire; tebow

1 posted on 06/11/2013 12:14:44 PM PDT by Borges
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To: discostu

Classic


2 posted on 06/11/2013 12:15:02 PM PDT by Borges
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To: Borges

Never in my life have I seen the uproar I’ve seen over a backup qb. He’s a non issue in the NFL.


3 posted on 06/11/2013 12:19:36 PM PDT by Durbin
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To: Borges

That’s a lot of worship for a guy that right now is 3rd on the depth chart and if he doesn’t change that won’t take a snap all season.


4 posted on 06/11/2013 12:20:50 PM PDT by discostu (Not just another moon faced assassin of joy.)
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To: discostu

It’s satire.


5 posted on 06/11/2013 12:21:03 PM PDT by Borges
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To: discostu

I don’t get hockey anyway.


6 posted on 06/11/2013 12:25:59 PM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Borges
We'll see who gets the last laugh in September. As for the Patriots? For years now, they've been struggling to live down the stench of that one grave miscarriage of justice. Spygate. When Bill Belichick stopped going with the character that got him there and started cutting corners. Ever since 2007, it's like karma's been running an all-out blitz, sacking the Patriots every single year. One misstep, and they’ve never danced the same way again. And I can't help but notice the timing here.

Ping for later

7 posted on 06/11/2013 12:32:08 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
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To: Durbin

This “non issue in the nfl(TM)” did in fact take a 1-4 team to the plyoffs and beat the defending champion in a playoff game. The one or two minor problems with his throwing motion, if they exist at all in reality, are easily fixable. The other qualities Tebow brings to the table are hugely valuable.


8 posted on 06/11/2013 12:34:55 PM PDT by varmintman
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To: Borges

I will be rooting for Tim Tebow, despite the fact that I’m no fan of the New England Patriots. They’ve always had a smugness about them that I just can’t shake. If Tebow can change that about them, then perhaps I can root for the whole team.


9 posted on 06/11/2013 12:35:01 PM PDT by FamiliarFace
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To: Borges

Jimmy Sexton is a very good agent!


10 posted on 06/11/2013 12:40:42 PM PDT by Coldwater Creek (")
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To: discostu

I would root for Spot the dog if his job had been stolen by the Mannings.


11 posted on 06/11/2013 12:43:41 PM PDT by Coldwater Creek (")
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To: Borges

“He came to Manhattan pregnant with hope, but destined for an abortion.”

What a classless statement from the author. Just disgusting.


12 posted on 06/11/2013 12:51:36 PM PDT by ro_dreaming (Chesterton, 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. ItÂ’s been found hard and not tried')
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To: ro_dreaming

This article is satire.


13 posted on 06/11/2013 12:55:51 PM PDT by Borges
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To: Borges

I am a Jets fan and Bellichick makes my skin crawl, but I hope he uses Tebow successfully as an all-around U back, quarterback, receiver, returner and makes Rex Ryan and the Jets management look like the idiots they are for not giving him a shot.

I like the Jets but I hate political correctness and anti-religious bigotry more.


14 posted on 06/11/2013 1:07:20 PM PDT by ez (Muslims do not play well with others.)
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To: Borges

If the author intended this to be satire, he failed.


15 posted on 06/11/2013 2:42:23 PM PDT by VerySadAmerican
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To: Borges

I was hoping the AZ Cardinals would sign him as an offensive lineman. He couldn’t do much worse than what they have now.


16 posted on 06/11/2013 2:46:57 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (People are idiots.)
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To: varmintman

“The one or two minor problems with his throwing motion, if they exist at all in reality, are easily fixable. The other qualities Tebow brings to the table are hugely valuable.”

So valuable he can’t get a starting job anywhere in the league. And the only reason they went 8-8 and squeezed into the playoffs is because the defense was holding teams all game until the offense finally decided to come alive in the last 5 minutes.


17 posted on 06/11/2013 5:28:02 PM PDT by Durbin
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To: VerySadAmerican

It’s a compendium of every hokey ‘inspirational’ defense of Tebow there is.


18 posted on 06/11/2013 5:34:00 PM PDT by Borges
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To: Durbin

The same team under another professional QB was 1-4. Anybody claiming Tim Tebow isnt good enough for the NFL is smokin too much reefer.


19 posted on 06/11/2013 7:01:12 PM PDT by varmintman
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