Column:

Hype over Tebow might be warranted

By John Hunt

Published Nov. 6, 2009

Correction appended

It's 3:45 p.m. on a Saturday midway through the college football season, and I've just about had it with all the news about senior quarterback Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators.

At this point, I almost think I'd rather watch a blank TV screen than continue watching hearing about how great "Saint" Tebow is.

It seems like everyone who's ever heard of the University of Florida is absolutely enamored of this guy. Yes, his stats are impressive, but does he really deserve all the hype he has garnered?

Watching the national championship game last year between the Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners, the extent to which the commentators gushed over him was simply nauseating. It seemed like every time he got in the huddle, one of the announcers would harp on what a great example he is and how good of a sport he has become, before and after he got tagged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting an Oklahoma defensive player with the Gator Chomp.

Then again, I've never met the man. He very well could be a real-life Clark Kent clad in orange and blue. The way the Gators faithfully accepted his announcement to come back and play his senior year (instead of opting for the NFL Draft), they very well might think he is. To say the crowd erupted after his announcement during the national championship reception is a gross understatement. Judging from the absolutely berserk response from the crowd, you would have thought he just won them another championship right there.

Perhaps he did. It's difficult to argue against his past impact. Being a part of two national championship teams and being the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, among numerous other accolades, are hard to ignore. People love him in Gainesville, Fla. There's no question about that, but would he still be as highly considered if he hadn't led them to the top twice? Or perhaps that is all you have to do. Would the meanest, nastiest player be regarded just as highly if he matched Tebow in credentials?

For the sake of the "Gator Nation," I hope not. Football is almost embarrassingly important on college campuses and if all you have to do to earn our hearts is pass well, it would be a sad state of affairs.

Although I pray this isn't the case for football fans such as myself, I don't think it is. Tebow continues to prove he is from a different mold than most quarterbacks. His pledge when he was addressing the media following a 2008 loss to Ole Miss still gives me chills. It's noteworthy when anyone gets a quote posted on a workout facility, but it's unheard of when the guy's still suiting up for you on weekends.

Although it's always tough to see any player go down, I have never seen any group of people more distraught and concerned about the well-being of an individual player than when Florida fans were rattled by Tebow's concussion in a game at Kentucky this season. Maybe there is more to this player than meets the eye. Maybe he truly is one of those special, once-in-a-lifetime types of players. The type when every time he touches the football, something amazing happens.

Does he deserve all the hype he gets? That's still to be determined, but I think I'll take Saint Tebow over the blank TV screen for just a little bit longer.