By Anthony Gannon
Sports Assignment Editor
Quarterback Tim Tebow’s move to the New York Jets brought about the funniest exchange of blustering and facing from a new player for his new team ever. In his introductory press conference, Tebow spouted the word ‘excited’ 45 times.
“I’m so honored and humbled to be a Jet. I’m so thankful that they wanted me. I’m so excited about meeting my teammates. I’ve had the pleasure to meet quite a few already.”
This is a team that had a very public falling out at the end of its season. Everyone was hating on everyone. Coaches, players, administrators and fans were going at it. This is nothing new in the realm of the New York Jets. Football’s New York Mets, if you will.
I’m sure strong Christian organizations are excited about the opportunity to advertise Tebow’s face all over New York, but Tebow needs to control his excitement at the money and potential righteous endorsements. He’s an excitable guy for sure, but his most notable image among the sports fans who know him is of Tebow working out with tires and chains on the Myoplex commercials. What about those lucky few who haven’t caught Tebowman?
“He needs to control his excitement and understand the messages he could send in the Big Apple,” wrote sophomore Jets fan Taylor Jaquays in an email. “He’s never been on a stage that large, and coming in as a backup, sometimes it’s easy to get ahead of yourself.
“I feel like Tebow won’t be able to take playing in New York.” “It’s such a big audience and he’s not even that good of a quarterback.”
Tebow’s last national commercial drew attention in 2010, when a pro-life ad aired innocently enough in the Super Bowl. A controversy arose because of the message of the commercial, rightfully so, but the controversy also spread to Tebow unnecessarily. He can spread the message, but he should just do it on less-polarizing issues, please. Either way, it showed how quickly the lightning of controversy could strike on a grand stage. Now that his name appears in the New York papers, it only makes it that much more likely his stances will draw criticism.
He’s not about the money. He’s proven that. But it may be easy to get sidetracked while repairing a locker room and trying to energize a desperate and spent fan base. Tebow’s good for miracles, but a smaller miracle will be the discretion he needs to show not to step on any toes. His feet aren’t too big, but they’ve grown significantly.
“I don’t think Tebow will matter that much in the future,” Jaquays said. “But once the fans start cheering for him when Mark Sanchez can’t play, Tebow will have chances to prove himself and build his fan base for those commercials.”
Tebow’s shown a great team attitude since entering the league two years ago but his enthusiasm seems misplaced at times. He’s never been silent about his religious views and he’s a great ambassador of the Christian faith to the world. The truth is, though, until he wins on the field, many people won’t take him seriously. New York grabbed him specifically for his image. The truth is the Jets were desperate to gain more press following their in-state rival Giants’ Super Bowl victory. Getting Tebow was convenient.
Unless Tebow truly respects the position he’s in, he could inconvenience many more.
gannonam10@bonaventure.edu.
