Turning from the Kardashians to a more wholesome controversy, my husband and I are Denver Broncos fans (he by choice and I by osmosis), and we have been eagerly following the development of Tim Tebow into an NFL quarterback. Following this "discussion" that's happening among sports commentators, I find it hard not to be in awe of my husband.
From the beginning, the commentators have all been split on the matter of Tim Tebow. He was a college phenomenon, a national championship winner, a Heisman trophy winner, and a celebrity before he hit the NFL. But he doesn't play typical football, and he's a hard match for professional offenses to work with. The Broncos have been faced with the challenge of changing their offense to match their quarterback instead of having a quarterback who steps into their offense. But he's winning.
I am a confessed Tebowist. (See Tebowist defined: http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7250435/tim-tebow-inspires-dj-gallo-proclaim-tebowist) He's a Christian and he's outspokenly pro-life. I would cheer for him even if he didn't play for my husband's favorite team. If I didn't have a more objective football fan in the house, I would totally become one of those Tebow jersey buying, coach squabbling, "every knock against Tebow is a knock against evangelical Christians"-griping type of people. Of course, if I didn't have a more objective football fan in the house, I might not even know who Tim Tebow is, so take that for what it's worth.
So I asked my objective football fan what he thought of Tim Tebow when Tebow became the Broncos's starting QB, and he told me this:
"Love, a lot of people think football is just about the numbers. Tebow has something different. He's not an NFL level quarterback, but he has these intangibles that make him a winner. Now, you look at Kyle Orton. He is a good quarterback. He completes more passes in a game than Tebow does in three. But the Broncos weren't winning under Orton. They wouldn't get fired up under Orton. They get fired up under Tebow. That is an intangible, and it gets them victories. Is he a great player? No, but he inspires other players to greatness."
"Oh," I said, "kind of like George Washington." It's a recognised historical opinion that Washington was the charasmatic glue that held greater geniuses like Nathanael Green and Henry Knox together in a team. Seth holds to the opinion that Washington was brilliant in his own right, so he ignored this. Maybe he didn't hear me.
This past week, after a stunning victory over the Jets (you should listen to the commentators. They really are stunned.), Seth called me over to the computer and showed me a clip of the second-to-last play of the game. D. Thomas catches a long pass and delivers a tremendous stiff arm to his would-be-tackler. "That's the Tebow effect. The offense is rising to his enthusiasm.
"And the defense too. You know, the Broncos haven't really had a defense for the past few years, not since the Orange Crush, actually. It's just not something the Broncos are known for. But tonight, the defense totally rose to the challenge. They held Mark Sanchez, who is recognised as a good quarterback, to 13 points. That is Tebow's influence."
So I read a few articles and listen to the commentators after Thursday's game (Seth was playing them pretty non-stop Friday night.), and guess what they're saying. "You know, I'm starting to believe that Tebow can lead this team." "His intangibles really make the difference." "The defense knows that if they can hold the other team to a low score, somehow Tebow can do something special in the fourth quarter to win." "His team believes in him, and they go out there and make things happen."
And I thought, "These guys sound like my husband. Wow. I married a really smart guy. He ought to analyze football for a living."
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