Tim Tebow was and to this day remains one of the most polarizing athletes the professional sports world has ever known.
Tim Tebow spent two seasons with the Denver Broncos after the team drafted him in 2010 and it’s likely that you sit on the side of really loving and appreciating him or the side of hating even mentioning his name.
There really is no in-between.
Tebow’s time in the NFL will be remembered as both turbulent and exciting and can best be described as one heck of a roller-coaster ride. Many Broncos fans are happy he is no longer around while others miss the days when he was around and wish those days would have lasted longer.
The Broncos had a great excuse for dumping Tebow off to the New York Jets when they did. They had just signed Peyton Manning in March 2012. Tebow himself even acknowledged that it’s understandable to take a back seat to Manning.
And just like that, Tebow was gone. The phenomenon known as ‘Tebowmania’ had left Broncos Country. It was a brand new era and one that would be quite successful.
But questions about how Tebow would have fared beyond that 2011 season still persist to this day. No one really knows how things would have turned out, but those who sit on the side they sit on with Tebow have very strong opinions one way or the other.
Tebow’s star shined bright early
At Florida, Tebow was an instant star, even when he was a backup in 2006. He took over as the school’s starting quarterback in 2007 and in the next three years, put together a run that would rival pretty much any player that has ever played college football.
In those three seasons, Tebow threw 83 touchdown passes to just 15 interceptions. He added a ridiculous 49 rushing touchdowns to go along with 11,406 total yards. Still, there were questions about his ability to go pro due to his limitations as a passer.
Tebow accomplished about everything a college player can hope to accomplish. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and an easy argument can be made that he could have won it twice.
He led his team to the national title in 2008 and won many other awards along the way.
But it was a speech he made following a shocking upset loss at home against Mississippi that made me a fan of this guy forever.
Following the difficult defeat, Tebow took the loss quite hard and apologized to fans before promising that he would work harder than any other player and push his team harder than any other player the rest of the way.
That’s a born leader and the kind of guy I would want on my team.
Tebow is selected 25th overall in 2010
The Broncos went into the 2010 draft with a few needs following an 8-8 season. Josh McDaniels was entering his second season as the team’s head coach and he was looking to get better on the offensive side of the ball.
With their original pick, No. 22 overall, the Broncos chose wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. But just three picks later, the Broncos came back into the first round by trading a second, third and fourth-round selection to the Baltimore Ravens.
During the broadcast on ESPN, they cut to a shot of Tebow on the phone. I couldn’t believe it. I had been telling friends all week that the team was going to draft Tebow and they all laughed at me. Were they really going to do it?
Yes, they were.
The Broncos chose Tebow with the No. 25 overall pick of the first round. Many fans loathed that decision and still do to this day. Though McDaniels is one of the most disliked figures in team history, this is a move I’ve always given him credit for making.
McDaniels had a vision for Tebow and despite his awkward throwing motion, made a play to get him in the first round of the draft. Unfortunately for McDaniels, his vision would never come to fruition as he was dismissed by the team later in the 2010 season.
The 2011 season was magical
With a new coaching staff in place to begin the 2011 season, Tebow was kept as a backup to Kyle Orton. But we all know how that went. Orton was terrible and so was the team. After a 1-4 start that season, the chants for Tebow to come off the bench were deafening.
Head coach John Fox finally gave in.
Tebow was named the starting quarterback for the team’s Week 7 contest against the Miami Dolphins. That game was the start of ‘Tebowmania’.
In that game, Tebow helped the Broncos to an improbable win, something he would do more than once that season. The Broncos stumbled to the finish line that season but were a far better team with Tebow. Despite an 8-8 finish, the Broncos still won the division, something they hadn’t done since 2005.
Tebow still had his detractors out there. In fact, there were probably more detractors than there were believers, even within the team’s fanbase. But he had led the team to a playoff berth.
Still, many fans and analysts wanted to give most of that credit to the defense and even the kicker, Matt Prater, who had won a couple of games with his amazing leg. The funny part about that is, where was that defense and kicking game when Orton was the quarterback?
Tebow simply led the team to where it went in 2011. He created a belief in the locker room that the team could be better than a middle-of-the-road squad that would finish with a losing record. Did he struggle? Sure, he struggled. But he was in his second system in as many years and won more games than he lost.
The team did win ugly, there is no doubt about that. But wins are wins at the end of the day. Tebow was far from perfect but he still managed to get the job done. He often doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Tebow dazzles against Pittsburgh
Going into the playoffs that season, the Broncos were supposed to be a one-and-done team. Despite having a home game due to winning the division, the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers were coming to town and with the defense and the fact that Tebow “couldn’t throw” according to most fans, it was going to be an easy win.
Tebow would only complete 10 passes in this game but they would travel for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Despite falling behind 6-0, the Broncos rattled off 20 straight points as Tebow began to light it up.
The Steelers rallied to send the game into overtime but that season, the league had adopted new rules for overtime. No longer would it be a sudden-death victory unless the team that had the ball first scored a touchdown.
Tebow wasted no time and on the first play of the extra session, the Steelers loaded the box, basically daring him to throw the ball. He threw a strike to Thomas who did the rest for an 80-yard game-winning touchdown which is among the greatest plays in the history of the franchise.
Even the Tebow haters were jumping up and down celebrating that play.
‘Tebowmania’ was a special time
After defeating the Steelers, the Broncos suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots. Many of Tebow’s detractors love to point this out and the fact that his brand of offense could not be sustained.
That may be true, but they should also mention that the Patriots have probably the NFL’sall-time greatest mind in Bill Belichick who had an extra week to prepare for the Broncos in this game. It was also played in Foxborough, a very difficult place to play at that time of year.
For the Broncos to make it as far as they did that season after a 1-4 start can be attributed to one thing… the insertion of Tebow. It wasn’t the defense, it wasn’t the kicker, it was the leader of the team, the quarterback.
It takes a collective effort to win in the NFL but it was Tebow who brought the team more together and made the effort more collective. He deserves a heap of praise for the season he helped put together.
‘Tebowmania’ was short-lived and for many, that was a good thing. But for others, the idea of having it extend into later years and what may have come of it will always remain.
All of that said, the 2011 season was one of the most exciting, entertaining rides in team history, no matter how you slice it.