But if Tebow could do these things while excelling at America’s most popular sport, the effects would spread far and wide. Much of his life had been captured and broadcast in one way or another-in a bestselling autobiography, in at least two documentary films, in thousands of newspaper and magazine articles-and he understood that fame was a rare and valuable currency. Tebow ran from the tunnel into the blazing sunlight, wearing a microphone from the NFL Network. With their new one, it seemed they couldn’t lose. With their old quarterback, the Broncos couldn’t win. You could argue about his pocket awareness, his long delivery, the loose revolution of the ball from his hand, but the results were indisputable. The Broncos were 1–4 when Tebow became their starter, and with a win on this day they would be 8–5. The believers call Tebow a winner, someone who always finds a way to get it done, and they had more evidence on their side in the days after this game than they have had at any other time. It was not his best game, or his most famous one, but two years later it remains the high point of his professional career. 11, 2011, when the Broncos played the Bears on a warm afternoon in Denver. Or all who believe Tebow deserves a starting job in the NFL, there was no better day than Dec. Now, at 26, in his early prime as an athlete, he is trying to become what he already was. Every other team had a chance to pick him up, and none did. In 23 months he became a starting NFL quarterback, won seven of eight games in exhilarating fashion, led the Broncos to an astonishing playoff win over the Steelers and was cast aside by the Broncos, Jets and Patriots. Tebow is America’s most influential athlete, according to a poll of 1,100 adults published by Forbes in May, and he is also unemployed. There is no real precedent for his situation. And I love what I do, and I’m still just as passionate, and fired up, and lovin’ the game. And I think one of those main things is accuracy, especially on the short routes, touch, intermediate throws, crossing routes. “I’ve really been working a lot on my weaknesses, trying to make them strengths. “I’m getting better every day,” he says, referring to his training sessions with the latest in a parade of personal coaches. but if tebow could do these things while excelling in america’s most popular sport, the effects would spread far and wide. A note to those executives: If Tebow and his advisors had their way from the outset, this story never would have been written.Īnyone could preach the gospel. Football executives who consider signing him fear they will also be signing the Tim Tebow Circus, an unnerving combination of satellite trucks and fan-sponsored billboards, and Tebow cannot afford to appear to be seeking more attention. But his fame has overshadowed his football career, threatening to destroy it, forcing him into seclusion. Tebow loves to talk, with anyone, anywhere, about things both trivial and profound. He apologizes for having declined several previous interview requests and having told his close friends and relatives to do the same. This meeting has taken five months to arrange. He asks how your flight was, and are you hungry, or thirsty, and when you take a glass of water he asks would you like some ice, and you say no, and he says yes, of course you would, and pours ice in another glass. You would like Tim Tebow because he actually looks at you, instead of the floor, or the cars rolling past on Santa Monica Boulevard, and his mind seems nowhere else but here, with you, in this conference room at a law firm in Los Angeles, at 2:25 p.m. E arrives early, wearing a white T-shirt and red cotton shorts, and during the handshake he reaches out with his free hand, as if to say, I’m open to hugging, but I’ll leave it up to you.
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