TODAY’S BIG WINNER: Tim Tebow
At 3:16 p.m. yesterday, a group of Jacksonville Jaguars fans organized a rally to make Tim Tebow the team’s quarterback. The event got national media coverage.
Here is a photo of the actual rally:
It wasn’t the turnout they were looking for.
This is the reality of the Tebow situation now: a lot of press, not a lot of actual fan support.
Tebow is a fascinating person. Always has been. Love him or hate him, he stood out. He stood out for his earnestness and his religion. He stood out for his hideous throwing motion. He stood out for wanting to be a leader, for almost needing it, in a way. He stood out for winning when it didn’t make any sense that he should be winning.
When he was trying to hook on with teams this offseason, though, Tebow hinted that he didn’t need to stand out anymore. He wanted to be treated like any other NFL quarterback. He wouldn’t bring a circus to any locker room.
Eventually, he got his wish. Now Tebow is being treated like any other NFL quarterback. And now that he’s being treated like any other NFL quarterback, the reality of the situation has presented itself — he isn’t quite good enough to be there.
This will make some people happy, of course. The constant “Tebowmania” will die down. The breathless coverage of a second- or third-string quarterback will go away. The media will return its coverage to the people who “deserve” it, whatever that means.
I don’t really understand that. Never have. Tebow was covered differently because he acted differently. He had a charisma about him, an earnestness, that so few athletes have. His games, when he was succeeding, felt different. We all stared in wonder as he threw five passes a row into the ground, just as minutes later we all burst into laughter and threw up our hands when he completed a big touchdown to win the game. It was ridiculous and it was fun. It was Tebowmania.
As a couple dozen or so people in a Jacksonville parking lot showed us yesterday, however, Tebowmania is most likely done. Maybe some CFL team will tap into the magic. Maybe he’ll become a coach. Or a motivational speaker. He could do any and all of them. But as an NFL quarterback, it appears this is it. I, for one, will miss it.
Today’s other big winners…
Dennis Rodman: The Worm starred in a pistachios commercial that shows Kim Jong-un blowing him up. Seriously.
Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick: The two settled their eyebrow-shaving bet.
