New Odd Couple: Tim Tebow And New York City
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By DERON SNYDER
The Denver Broncos just sent their country mouse — quarterback Tim Tebow — to the Big Apple. They threw Little Red Riding Tim to the Big Bad Wolves. They traded the NFL’s biggest choirboy to the league’s rowdiest, most dysfunctional band, the New York Jets.
Just when we thought “Tebowmania” couldn’t get any crazier, it was ratcheted up several notches by the Broncos, who conveniently brushed it off their lap. Now the Jets have to manage the circus, including the quarterback controversy that’s certain to brew if Mark Sanchez stumbles. Only a return engagement on HBO’s Hard Knocks would make this scenario more interesting.
“I wanted to play for Coach [Rex] Ryan ever since I saw Hard Knocks,” Tebow said of the Jets’ foulmouthed leader. “He just seemed like a coach who loves football and is passionate about the game of football. He’s definitely a players’ coach. I just love that about him.”
When Tebow led the Broncos to an 8-8 record, followed by a playoff victory against Pittsburgh, he was the veritable Pied Piper of Denver. Every player in the locker room rallied around him, as did fans across the country. It didn’t matter that most NFL personnel executives consider Tebow too flawed to succeed long-term. Tebowmania is fueled by faith more than football, with true believers convinced that a higher power is at work.
