There has been not been a more debated athlete in 2011 then Tim Tebow. I can totally understand how the hours devoted to talking about him on the ESPN talking head shows drive people crazy. His detractors see him as a hype machine and a brand creation of the Christian faith. It annoys them that all of his interviews start with the same "I'd like give thanks to my lord and savior Jesus Christ and to my teammates." We live in a society that teaches us not to trust people who say and do all the right things and for that reason many don't want to buy in to Tim Tebow even though he has compelled a 6-1 record this season. Count me among the many fans who have bought into Tim Tebow and allow me to explain why he is the most important and influential athlete to come along in the young 21st century.
Tim Tebow has very limited physical ability for a professional quarterback. No one would call him a greater passer of the football. At a position in which accuracy is the most important characteristic, he is often horrible inaccurate. His most celebrated physical attribute is his running ability, but with a 4.8 forty time he is actually one of the slowest players on the field. This skill set should not make someone a professional quarterback at all let alone winning one, but Tim Tebow is a winner and in doing so has proven everything we have ever wanted to be true about sports.
Take it from someone who teaches young and mostly untalented athletes. We spend all our hours in a week trying to convince them that effort, will, competitiveness and team chemistry can overcome a difference in talent level. By simply giving 100% on every play and being the most competitive guy in the sport Tebow has unified his team and made them better then their individual talents. The dirty little secret about sports is there are very few players in any level of sports that give 100% all the time and even if you find a player who does they don't always have the leadership abilities to rally a team around them. Unified teams who belief in each other can overcome a large disparity in talent and are an opposing coach's worst nightmare. Looking far beyond the hype machine and his capabilities as a role model for his faith, Tim Tebow has a chance to prove everything we have ever taught our kids about sports that effort, will, courage and leadership can turn the most marginal players into winners at the highest level.
Anyone rooting for Tebow to fail because of his shortcomings in talent or personal beliefs is missing the bigger picture. Tim Tebow represents all former athletes who wish that their effort and hustle would be rewarded with playing time. He represents every coach who begged his best player to be his best leader and wished for team chemistry. He is everything we want from our athletes and is willing to be a role model. If he succeeds there is an opportunity that an entire generation of athletes can have a similar work ethic and competitive desire. Anyone who would actively root against all this to happen because they don't like his lack of physical talent or his faith annoys them does not truly understand sports. There is no doubt in my mind Tim Tebow is the most important athlete to come along so far in the 21st century. We can only hope that there will be many more athletes like him coming on the scene in the near future.
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