But what we have here today is downright biblical. In an effort to win their sixth straight game, lock up another division title, and make more strides toward a first-round playoff bye, the Patriots are suddenly face to face with the supernatural powers of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow.
Has there ever been anything like this in the NFL?
No. There has not.
Tebow, a proud and prominent evangelical Christian with an ugly-but-effective toolbox of quarterbacking skills, has taken the NFL by hailstorm. Since becoming the starter (an inadvertent promotion when the 1-4 Broncos gave up on Kyle Orton), Tebow has led the Broncos to seven wins in eight games, most of them preposterous comebacks, straining all NFL logic.
Football analysts across the land have been pulling hamstrings backpedaling to amend their definitive pronouncements that Tebow would never amount to anything as an NFL quarterback. Certainly anyone who watched last week’s miraculous win over the Bears (the Broncos trailed, 10-0, with 2:15 remaining) became a believer.
And it’s all about belief when it comes to Tebow. He’s the son of Baptist missionaries. He appeared with his mother on a Focus on the Family, pro-life TV ad when he was a senior at Florida. He stenciled “John 3:16’’ on his eye black when Florida beat Oklahoma for the 2008 championship, prompting an NCAA rule banning cheekbone messages. Training a generation to genuflect, he’s made his name a verb (“I Tebow, you Tebow, he-she-it Tebows’’) and it’s been suggested that he can turn Gatorade into wine. He is the Mile High Messiah. There are more than a few No. 15 Broncos jerseys bearing the name “Jesus.’’
This makes Tebow the proverbial polarizing figure. His fame even extended to the Republican presidential debates when Rick Perry said, “I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.’’
Big-time professional sports and public displays of faith make for an odd mix. It’s common for successful Christian athletes to credit their maker when good things happen, but no one seems to be able to explain why God would like the Broncos more than the Bears. I happen to know for a fact that God loves the Patriots, maybe even more than CBS loves the Patriots.
