Why this Georgia Bulldog just can’t hate Tim Tebow

As a Georgia Bulldog, I should hate a player who is synonymous with our arch rivals, but when it comes to Tim Tebow, I just can’t do it.

So I’ve got something I need to get off my chest here. It’s something that as a Georgia Bulldog fan I’ve kept pretty quiet for a long time. But in the desperation of summer and almost nothing to write about, it’s been burrowing away to the front of my mind.

I like Tim Tebow.

I know I’m not supposed to Dawg nation. Like you, I still have terrible flashbacks to what he did to our bulldogs in his final two years in college. He battered our beleaguered players and continues to be a symbol of a time back when Florida was not just a little bit better than us. While we were struggling to put together 9 win seasons, they were winning national championships.

Tebow is Florida. He turned that program around and made them what they are today. Without him, does anyone care about the Gators? He’s their version of Hershel Walker and that should mean that I naturally can’t stand the guy.

But I can’t do it. Truth be told, ever since he left Gainesville, He’s become increasingly likable to me. I actually wanted him to succeed in the NFL even though I never thought he would. Why is this? Why does a man who bleeds red and black secretly cheer for a guy who caused him nothing but heartbreak during his college career? Well, there are a couple of reasons, starting with…

His piety doesn’t bother me one bit:

I’ll preface this by stating that I’m not a religious guy. More often than not, when I hear players and celebs in general talk about god, I role my eyes. It’s become such a cliche in this day and age. How many celebrities have preached their love of God only to not exactly live up to their words behind the scenes? This seems to be particularly prevalent in the sports world *cough* Huge Freeze *cough*.

I feel differently about Tebow. A lot of people don’t like him because they don’t give him the benefit of the doubt. He talks about it so much, they assume he must be faking it. But that just doesn’t seem to be the case. He’s actually genuine about his religion and I respect that. It’s one of the things that really separates him from so many other athletes.

Remember all the stories about how he’d pray with students when he was in college? How about the time when he was on a plane and a guy started having a heart attack. Tebow led a prayer session for the man with the rest of the plane. He left his first-class seat and went and prayed with the mans wife. Then he transported the wife to the hospital when the plane landed.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that he’s the one guy where I don’t actually doubt him on this. He’s been in the spotlight for over a decade and his religion has been a big part of that. During that time, he’s showed time and again that he’s actually genuine about this. I have to give him props, that’s not normally the case.

Tebow gonna Tebow:

Love him or hate him, Tebow doesn’t seem to care. He’s going to do what he wants to do and I think that’s awesome. Two years ago when he decided he wanted to try professional baseball, he was laughed at. REMORSELESSLY.

Everyone from Stephen A. Smith to professional baseball writers mocked the guy for wasting his time. He didn’t care and he went and did it anyway. Has he torn up the minor leagues since he arrived? Not exactly no, but credit where it’s due, the guy has actually been pretty decent.

He’s been climbing his way through the New York Mets system since he signed. Right now, he’s made his way up to double A and is playing some respectable baseball. He’s got a .240 average and a surprisingly good .324 OBP. Is he lighting the world on fire? No, but he’s turned himself in a solid minor league baseball player in 2 years. You know who hasn’t done that? Pretty much everyone who mocked him.

Some people still think he’s wasting his time, but I disagree. He wanted to play baseball and look, he’s playing baseball. There’s no way he made that decision without knowing the backlash that was coming. But he didn’t care and that is laudable especially in this day and age. The ‘why not me?’ mentality is something that I think we could all do with seeing a bit more off these days. In Tebow’s case, we’ve seen that time and again and it makes him a great role model for so many.

I’m pretty sure he’s the nicest guy on the planet:

Last but not least, and it’s kind of hard to prove, but I’m pretty sure it’s true. Is there a nicer guy out there than Tim Tebow? I’m being serious, has anyone ever read something about him and not thought ‘that’s a good dude’? Because I’ve been scouring for the internet and I can’t find a damn thing.

That’s probably because he’s actually an awesome guy. How many people would use their fame, fortune, and their platform to make as big of an impact as Tebow? I know I sure as heck wouldn’t. If I had been that good at football, I’d spend my days signing all the merch I could and counting the enormous stacks I was putting in my bank account. Sure, Iots of athletes have charities, but I can’t think of any who works as hard or do as much as Tebow.

His ‘Night to Shine’ event literally makes me cry every year. The guy who made me weep tears of misery as he destroyed my team now does the same thing, but this time, they’re happy tears, because I can’t believe how big of a difference he makes. I’m a bulldog dammit, this shouldn’t be happening to me!

I can’t be the only one… can I?

Gator or not, I can’t escape the fact that Tim Tebow has slowly become one of my favorite people in sports. It’s not that he’s a dominant player or that he’s a born winner or anything like that. It’s that since he arrived in the spotlight, he continues to show that he’s a better man than he is an athlete.

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That’s pretty rare but deep down, that’s actually what college football is all about really. Less than 5% of the guys we cheer for will go on and play professional football, but all of them will grow up and have to find their place in their communities. Tebow has created a brand for himself like a lot of athletes, but his centers around helping others rather than just himself. That’s something that even this hardcore Bulldog fan has come to truly respect even if I do wish he played football at ANY other school.