It didn’t start this season but it certainly went to an unprecedented level. The “it” I write of is the Tim Tebow craze. There is no denying there is much public interest in the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback. A great many people are without a doubt invested in what he does on and off the football field. I am however skeptical that the incessant media coverage is warranted and completely legitimate. Since he made his first start of this NFL season on October 23rd of last year, an 18-15 overtime victory over the Miami Dolphins, the media coverage on Tim Tebow has been, in a word, overwhelming. All the late game heroics play a significant and valid role here. I certainly found what the Broncos were doing late in some of their games to be worth watching and exciting (as I would any other game close game). But the amount of time devoted to it, on ESPN especially, I would argue is manufactured to a degree worth noting. Take for instance a SportsCenter highlight for a Denver Nuggets game last week. The game had absolutely nothing to do with Tebow, yet ESPN injected him into the highlight by dubiously connecting him to Denver and Corey Brewer who played basketball at the University of Florida at the same time Tebow was the university’s star quarterback. I would also point to the “story” about the bonus he received for the playoff victory over the Steelers. Outside of a championship victory, bonuses have really never been deemed newsworthy (maybe footnotes at most), yet it was on the front page of ESPN.com early last week. It only discusses Tebow as well, no other players. I mostly avoided ESPN last week because every time I turned to the channel it was TebowCenter. Much like the mention of the (*) F word by anyone in the media, the focus on Tebow is polarizing and thus means ratings.

(*) Favre

Make no mistake, my criticism of the inflated coverage isn’t a criticism of Tim Tebow. If the response to a question is an honest answer, it’s hard for me to see how the person answering the question is at fault for the reaction, attention, coverage, etc. his/her response(s) receives. It’s not his fault that the coverage is what it is. He is asked a question, he answers it. From all accounts the way he acts and talks in public is really who he is. I haven’t seen any evidence to the contrary. Unlike so many people in the spotlight or otherwise I don’t think Tebow goes out of his way to get attention. It seems to me he’s just being himself. I realize that rubs a lot of people the wrong way because of his beliefs. I don’t believe people should have to hide who they are.

The passion behind the Tebow craze, I believe, has a lot to do with what he represents, what defines him (at least in the public eye). What defines him largely is his religious views. Obviously, Tebow doesn’t hide that he is a Christian. He’s rather overt about it. Christians, I would say confidently (though I do not have statistics to back it up), are some of Tebow’s most ardent supporters. On the other hand people who do not care for Tebow do not like how much attention he gets for his religion. They don’t like how he talks about it as much as he does. I have seen both of these feelings expressed from different groups of my friends in recent weeks. It’s not as easy as saying that all Christians are Tebow admirers and all non-Christians have an unfavorable view of him, but I think with religion being such a deeply held belief it plays into people’s strong feelings about Tebow.

What bothers me is that it is not as if Tim Tebow is the only religious person in the NFL. Watch a post-game interview or the group of players gathering on the field to pray shortly after the game ends. I don’t like that Tebow is singled out, especially to the degree in which he is, among that entire group of people. Again, it’s not his fault, but it does bother me that he is about the only player that receives significant media coverage based solely on his religious beliefs.

Along with religion, Tim Tebow’s abilities on the football field play a considerable hand in the attention he receives. The best word I can use to describe Tebow as an NFL quarterback is unconventional. Some football fans love him for it. His detractors, in part because he receives so much attention, point out that he is not an exceptional NFL quarterback (by normal standards) and can use his stats as support. His style of play causes division among football fans. Whether or not you are a fan of Tebow as a football player, it’s hard to argue that the Denver Broncos didn’t have to alter their offense to suit Tebow. This is not an argument for or against him as a quarterback, it’s simply the truth. How many quarterbacks can get away with his 46.5% pass completion percentage in the NFL? If Tim Tebow is your quarterback in the NFL you aren’t going to have much success if you are running the same types of offenses as other teams. That is why the Broncos were so reliant on their run game and experimented with options and other atypical plays.

(I’m no expert NFL evaluator, but I’ve watched my fair share of football. Conservatively, I would say there are 18 NFL quarterbacks I would rather have as my team’s starting quarterback ahead of Tim Tebow right now. Hard to argue that Tebow’s play justifies the media coverage.)

Overall though, I fall in the camp that enjoys that Tebow leaves supposed “experts” flabbergasted. The reason being too much analysis is what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. Too much analysis is from people who are adamant they are right about absolutely everything, but are often as wrong as much as they are right. Too much of the analysis holds Tim Tebow to one standard, that of every other NFL quarterback. Tim Tebow has his own game. As I wrote earlier, you have to adapt to him and put him in a position to be successful. Some “analysts” can’t deal with that notion and try to undermine him for his game. Even though Tebow (and several other players) may not fit the normal mold, I like it when teams find ways to use players with abnormal abilities to help the team. It shows that people are thinking outside the box and are trying different things. They’re not looking through one lens. I watched a ton of Tebow’s games when he was at the University of Florida. Yes, his style doesn’t translate directly into the conventional NFL quarterback, but I thought he could help a team in some way. It was up to a team taking a chance and being creative.

Another thing that bothers me a great deal is that Tebow’s supporters give him complete credit for the Denver Broncos’ wins and deflect blame from him when they lose. With Tebow as their starting quarterback, the Broncos make it exciting late and usually win or they get blown out. That’s typically what happened this season for them. It’s insane to think that Tebow is solely responsible for the close wins, but somehow is not responsible when the team plays poorly. As a quarterback he plays a big part in every outcome. That’s the nature of the position. Last time I checked there are 50+ players on a NFL roster. It just bothers me when we’re told by so many people in the world of sport that it’s all about the team, then those same people give someone like Tebow all the credit win or lose. It is sport hypocrisy.

My strongest feeling on the attention Tim Tebow receives deals with polarization and media coverage. I believe the coverage Tebow gets is manufactured (to a significant degree). The media add fuel to a fire that otherwise would simmer and eventually burn out. Instead almost every time I turn on ESPN specifically, Tebow is being discussed or will be discussed in a matter of minutes. There is no argument I see that calls for that amount of coverage. There is much more going on in sports. Look at the stories on him and you can see how flimsy they are in terms of actual news worth. One of the best and easiest ways to gain ratings these days is to be controversial, polarize an audience with strongly held beliefs. Religion certainly fits in here. The type of game Tebow plays fits in here as well because his skill set is unique to the position he plays, specifically at the NFL level. As far as the religious angle is concerned my point is that Tebow is simply being himself and doesn’t go out of his way to receive attention for his beliefs. At the same time he does not hide it in any way. I don’t see much wrong here (however many people do). As for Tebow the football player I like that he has been able to succeed as much as he has with the skills he brings to the table because it shuts up a lot of loudmouth commentators. Back to the media, I just don’t see how what Tebow does on the football field or outside of it translates legitimately into this amount of coverage. Even some of my friends who support Tebow to the fullest were sick of watching TebowCenter. Today, two days after the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs the main stories on SportsCenter earlier were the four NFL playoff games over the weekend, the two conference championship games this week, and then what Saturday’s game means for Tebow next season. This is just ridiculous (and maddening). The media give people what they want, not what they need. Tebow means ratings and in today’s world that means that’s what people “want.”