a99kitten's Musings

Tim Tebow was released by the New York Jets today. I say good riddance. But I don’t mean to Tim being let go. I mean to the NY Jets being out of Tim’s life. That team and its fans deserve each other. Scrolling through some of the headlines and stories on it this morning had me shaking my head at the vitriol and immaturity of the sports media (who I had liked more than standard media but that is waning fast.)

So let’s see…Tim Tebow has NOT:

. Raped anyone or been accused of rape…multiple times
. Run a vicious dog fighting business, murdered (yes, murdered) many dogs and lied straight-faced to the Feds when asked.
. Help a friend cover up a murder (at BEST just helped cover up but probably just a weeeeee bit more)
. Take drugs and get arrested…multiple times
. Drive drunk and get arrested…multiple times
. Hangout with known gang members and get involved in their shoot outs.
. Carry a non-licensed gun (What?! Criminals can get those?!?!) and shoot someone or better yet, yourself
. Killed someone while driving under the influence

Those are just a few little indiscretions made by current (or recently retired) NFL players.

But he DOES/HAS:

. Spends his off time helping sick children in the Philippines
. Started a foundation that helps children with cancer – and actually spends time on it, not just his face or cash like MANY other celebs.
. Doesn’t seem to drink, or smoke, or do drugs, or end up at the police station or in his lawyer’s office. Or even on TMZ.
. Broke *numerous* college football records (including QB records) while still maintaining a 3.77 GPA
. Won the Heisman Trophy
. Oh yeah…took the Denver Broncos from a 1 and 4 start (when he was brought in to replace Kyle Orton) to the AFC Play Offs in his first year in the NFL. You can argue it wasn’t just him and it was a team effort. Of course. But where was that team in the first 5 games? Napping in Loserville. Takes something special to rally a team. And Tim did that. Also…beat the NYJ…

I am 100% convinced the media that hates Tim hates him because he is very outspoken in his Christianness (is that a word?) They can’t stand that someone who is so religious could also be a nice guy, not a pedophile. And be a successful, happy guy. *Obviously* something has to be wrong with him.

The New York Jets are an awful team. Maybe not always, but they are now. Mark Sanchez is pathetic. And NO team leader. That’s a laughable thought actually. But the coaching and frankly, the fans, are way worse. Watching the “fans” react to the NYJ draft picks was telling. I’d hate to be drafted to that team. They are tied with OAK for my least favorite sports teams ever. I think it’s blessing (and I’m not religious at all) for Tim to be let go from that hell hole of a team.

But I think it’s far more telling of people that rail so much on the kid. Sure you can argue you are some football purist and he has no business playing. But…well…he did far more for the Gators and for the Broncos than most. And I love (love) Peyton Manning, but not once person can say with a straight face that he would have even considered joining that team if they had continued down the 1-4 road they were on in 2011. Not. One. Chance. The last time they were in the play-offs was in 2005. And he really did only take them 1 game further than Tim did.

No..I am not comparing Tim to Peyton on a football level. Peyton IS a football genius. But also another example of a team leader that leads his team through more than just his playing. Are there better QBs in the NFL. Yes. But are there QBs (or any position) who have been maligned as much as Tim? Not that I can recall. Certainly not recently. You can point to the fact that he has more of a celebrity factor than a lot of other players. True. But that’s the media, not him. The media likes to build up so they can tear down.

But for all the hate spewed forth and pointing and laughing by the media or people about Tim, you are simply showing what a pathetic human being you really are. So go back to worshiping the scumbags of the NFL.

Tim Tebow won again today. In overtime after tying it up in the 4th quarter. Late in the 4th quarter. You just can not not like watching the Broncos play. I was jumping up and down and yelling in my living room! And I wasn’t even a Broncos fan. Just a Tebow fan.

It’s funny how a lot of announcers are now on the Tebow bandwagon. I mean I guess there are only so many weeks you can diss him even when he leads his team to wins. But these are the same announcers who have been so, so mean to him. Before the draft. After he went in the first round and everyone said that Josh McDaniels was a fool for doing it. After seeing him in the combine and declaring he would never make it as an NFL QB. And even after wins.

Now I’m not saying he does it all himself. He is part of a team. And he is the one always reminding people of that when the put a microphone in his face. He NEVER makes it about himself. He has a great defense. He has good running backs (including him!) BUT…you have to say, not much had changed (in terms of personnel) on the team that was 1 and 4 with Kyle Orton as QB. Tebow makes a difference. Maybe not always with his arm. But with his running, his leadership qualities. His outlook. His belief that they can do it. And his belief in his team. And their belief in him.

And yes, his belief in God probably helps a lot too. It’s not tangible. And you don’t have to necessarily believe. But it makes him a better QB, a better leader and that effects him and his team. You saw it when he led the Gators and you see it again now. Real leaders have an intangible quality that make people want to believe, want to follow. It’s a special quality that a lot of people don’t actually have.

And really, isn’t that what religion is supposed to be about anyway? Believing in yourself and others? Belief that you can do anything that you set your mind to and work hard for? You don’t have to be a devout Christian to believe those things.

That’s why I simply do not understand why people bag on him so much for his beliefs. I mean, we could put Tim Tebow on the covers of sports magazines and TV shows and talk about his belief in his team and outlook on life and how football isn’t his entire life and the charities he supports. But nah, let’s talk about how great Michael Vick – a convicted felon – is. Or Ben Roethlisberger – an alleged rapist who is either guilty of it or, at least, of VERY bad judgement. Or any of the other thugs that play in professional sports (guns, drugs, violence, etc.) They are much better to talk about and hold up as role models and heroes to kids. Of course there is always the morally bankrupt putz Tiger Woods to look up to as well. yeah…

I’m not very religious. But I think it’s better to believe in something than nothing. And is it so bad to have a guy doing well at something that he enjoys doing and thanking his team, fans and yes, God, for it? And frankly, it’s rather funny to watch the entire Fox Sports desk just stumble over their words not being able to explain it after the DEN/CHI game today. They just shrugged and said “Who knows. But he keeps winning. He just keeps winning.”

Who knows how it plays out over the long term. I just want to keep rooting for him. It’s fun. And that’s why I watch football. To the nay-sayers I say you should try #tebowing a little….or at least lighten up.

p.s See…I was blogging about him back in 2009 too :) https://a99kitten.com/?p=1681  and  https://a99kitten.com/?p=1094  #stalker

It’s been interesting reading all of the intense hate for the Gators and Tim Tebow. I’m actually pretty much disgusted by people. I totally get and understand team loyalty, crazy school rivalries, etc. Good-natured razzing is fine. I yell for the Gators. I yell for the Niners. I yell for all of my fantasy football players. You know what I don’t do? Call the opposing teams fags. Call them suck-ass pieces of crap. Laugh and call them babies when they get knocked down and get concussions. And these are some of the nicer things I’ve read by the trash talkers…

But I’ve never been a fan of mean smack talk as it generally spirals downward quickly and really, at the end of the day, it will come back and bite you in the butt anyway. Your favorite team and favorite player will make a bad play or lose a big game eventually too…

But man – reading the bitter anti-Tebow rants has been eye-opening. Made me realize that some people have really never graduated emotionally from high school. Or maybe kindergarten? The insults I’ve read are not something I’d write here. But apparently because he’s not out impregnating half the cheer squad, his manhood is immediately questioned. Oh, and because he is religious – he’s a tool. And because he has not gotten into a tabloid-headline trouble, he’s a jerk (much, much worse was actually written than what I’ve said here.)

Really people? Would it be better if he was arrested for DUI? Or suspended for eye-gouging another player? Or kicking a downed player in the head? Or splashed all over the tabloids because he is partying in Vegas with Paris Hilton and impregnating a girl from his school at the same time? The NFL is full of hoodlum/immature players who were hoodlums and immature in college too. We don’t actually need more of those.

I just don’t get why people are making fun of him because he is, seemingly, a nice guy. Oh – is it because you are such a loser that you can’t imagine someone actually being a good person, not getting into boatloads of trouble, actually liking their parents, playing a game they love while going to school? Isn’t that what everyone wants for their kids when they send them to college? Is the problem here that you didn’t have those things so you are jealous? Or bitter because you never got to date the cool kid in school? Or is it just that your life right now is so sad that the only joy you get is from ripping on others?

Oh and making fun of him because he cried while the Gators lost to Alabama and calling him a p***y? Really? Have you watched any NFL play-off game or Superbowl on TV? The losing team is on the bench and the media always likes to show them crying. Of course they are crying – this is something they have been playing for all season, all year, all their careers. It’s their life. Tebow has been playing football since he was a little kid. He worked hard. He came into the starting QB spot at Florida after his freshman year and playing with Chris Leak and winning that BCS Bowl. He is a great player. And he takes his position as the team leader very seriously. He takes the losses personally. That is a quality you WANT in a leader. Not blaming your losses on others. Or worse, not really caring.

Is he the best player in football ever to be imagined or looked upon? I don’t know – he’s still in college. And probably not – but he’s not the one saying he is. That’s the media. Look to them if you are annoyed with the Chosen One status.

But if you want to trash talk (and I mean trash) a 22-year old kid for being a good player, a good person and nice guy – well, that says a lot more about you than it does him.

I am a Gator fan. Have been for years. I didn’t go to UF but grew up in Florida. You were either a Gator or a Seminole. Period. Florida takes its sports seriously. They didn’t have pro baseball or hockey teams while I was growing up/living there so football, both pro and college, were the biggest sports.

The Gators have been good for some years now but have really become an excellent team in the past few years. University of Florida is a sports school so attracts great talent but there are plenty of great sports schools. Their basketball team is also a shining star for the state. What I don’t understand or like is that when the Gators get ranked #1, I end up reading all sorts of negative stuff about them. Mostly from whiny fans of other teams but even from some sports commentators/reporters.

I remember when the Gators were playing in the BCS Championship game against Ohio a couple years ago. SO much press was about how they shouldn’t have even been in the game, didn’t deserve the spot and will lose to the much superior Ohio. I took all of the $5 bets that people at work or friends made against Florida. And happily won them all. Florida dominated that game.

That was Tim Tebow’s freshman year and he shared QB duties with Chris Leak. They were an outstanding offense backed up by an outstanding defense. Ohio puked all over that field so I am not sure what teams the sports reporters were watching prior to that game to write their superior pieces on how Florida would lose and didn’t even belong on the field with Ohio. They proved they belonged.

Same thing happened last year. Blah, blah, blah how the Gators didn’t belong in the BCS Championship game. Even the President, Senators and Congressmen were talking about how the system needed to be changed. Guys – stay the hell out of it. Pretty sure you have bigger things to think and worry about. Your endless baseball/steroid investigation/hearings hasn’t really done anything too big other than make noise. So glad you have so much free time but we don’t need government interference in college sports now too…

Anyway, Tim Tebow is an outstanding leader for that team. Obviously the entire team is great and Urban Meyer deserves kudos heaped on him for coaching. But having a team member who the team reacts to as a leader (like a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady) does a LOT of good. And he is the kind of guy off the field who deserves the respect. Someone who I would like my kid looking up to. He cares about his role as a leader for the team but also cares about his academics, about his future, his family, charity work. A very well-rounded person. Not someone I expect to see holding out after the draft for a bigger contract because he feels he is worth $25 million dollars straight out of college (yes, talking to you Michael Crabtree.) With all of the guys in professional sports who act like entitled, whiny babies or worse – idiot criminals – it’s nice to see a guy like Tim Tebow have great character on and off the field.

I guess it’s human nature to want to tear down whoever is #1. But when the Sooners were ranked #1 I didn’t hear how they didn’t deserve it. Or whenever USC is ranked high, it’s like it’s a given. Like they should always be #1?

Or how about the Patriots. Nothing gave me more pleasure than watching Eli and his guys take that game from the Patriots. But that’s because I hated their entitled attitude to being there. Before the game, I would read how they would dominate the Giants, and the interviews with the players (pre-game) were all so haughty and “we deserve this”. One of the pre-game shows was all about the awesomeness of Tom Brady and the Patriots perfect season. Plus throw in the alleged coaching/cheating junk that year. Laughed out loud when they lost!!! BUT – I’ve always preferred the NFC :)

I haven’t seen any Gator interviews – with players or coaches – giving off that kind of attitude. I’m glad. They are trying to stay humble, at least in the public eye, which is a good thing. Because so many people are waiting for them to stumble. I read many tweets on twitter Saturday about how the Gators played a high school team. How it was ridiculous. How they needed to play a real team to “show them”. Ummm…last I checked, the Gators don’t actually make their schedule. And theirs wasn’t the only lop-sided game. Kansas/N. Colorado, Nebraska/Fla Alt, USC/SJ State, Notre Dame/Nevada (my poor Wolf Pack)…all of these games were very high-scoring – by one team. Yet the Gators get all the negative tongue-wagging. Why? And really…they didn’t beat the spread (73 pts!) so a good bet was on Charleston :)

Whatever…I’m hoping they win every game gloriously and shut everyone up. But if they don’t – I will still root for them, will still proudly wear my Gator gear and I still say they deserve the accolades they get. They are a great team. CHOMP CHOMP!