Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) kneels in prayer before the game against the Chicago Bears during at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos defeated the Bears 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE
Let’s face it.
It’s been a rough year in sports. From NFL to NBA lockouts to basketball brawls – abroad and at home – multiple sex scandals and beyond, sports fans could use a few reasons to cheer.
Tim Tebow has offered the perfect escape. Whether you love to cheer against or for him, at least you’re watching and enjoying (hopefully) his football games. Even more impressive, perhaps, Tebow has taken a largely irrelevant Denver Broncos team that few NFL fans cared about nationally – outside of the Mile High city – and transformed this team into must-see television.
Tim Tebow, Matt Prater (former UCF kicker) and Denver’s defense once again helped pull off another thrilling fourth quarter comeback, this time a 13-10 win against the injury-riddled Chicago Bears. That win marked the sixth consecutive win since Tim Tebow was named the Denver Broncos starter.
During the Sunday night football broadcast on NBC, Bob Costas astutely pointed out that the only quarterback with a higher winning percentage this year than Tim Tebow is Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. And the ever-popular subject of Tim Tebow’s Christian beliefs came up again, but Costas seemed to approach this with a balanced view.
Bob Costas – “Still, there is no doubt that Tebow and his team benefit from his honest belief. How? Frank Bruni put it well in today’s New York Times. Whatever Tebow may lack in classic NFL quarterbacking traits, he possesses other qualities in abundance. And in his case, those qualities — confidence, equanimity, optimism — and a presence that can’t be explained, but can certainly be felt. The whole Tebow persona derives from how he sees the world, and his place in it. Those qualities, no matter how one comes by them, are an asset, perhaps especially in sports.
Good for Tebow, and those who share his beliefs. And those who don’t can still acknowledge, and appreciate, that who Tim Tebow is, is not only genuine, but for the moment at least, it makes him and the Broncos, one of the most fascinating, and in whatever sense you interpret it, uplifting stories in sports.”