Tebow Fatigue On The Rise

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With the announcement that he would be returning to Gainesville for another season came a growing wave of “Tim Tebow Fatigue.”

Fans across the country are tearing the Gator quarterback down.  They’re sorry to see him return.

Now, to an extent, it’s natural for fans of one school to dislike the players of another school. 

Many times that wrong-colored jersey leads fans to cry, “he’s overrated.”  Even if the player in question is not.

And Tebow’s not.

Is there a lot of media coverage of him?  Yes. 

Is some of it (like the praise by Thom Brennaman during the BCS title game) over the top?  Sure.

But that’s no reason to hold things against Tebow.



I’ve witnessed this backlash once before, about 10 years ago.

Peyton Manning was the golden boy at Tennessee.  How many times did opposing fans hear that name?  How many times did they see Archie interviewed in the stands during a UT game?

Both Manning and Tebow are exceptional talents.  They are, in fact,  once-in-a-decade (or more) type talents.

Both were good students.  Both kept their noses clean off the field.  Both said all the right things in the press.  Both loved their universities.

And both dealt with fan negativity driven by overexposure.



In Manning’s case, it cost him the Heisman Trophy.  He was everything that a college football player is supposed to be and yet many voters were looking for anyone BUT Manning to vote for.

I think, to a lesser degree, it cost Tebow a Heisman Trophy this year.  Aside from, “he won it last year,” how else can you explain the number of Heisman voters that completely left Tebow off their ballots?

Ironically, Tennessee fans are the first to hate on Tebow… just as Florida fans were the first to criticize Manning.  (Tommy Deas of The Tuscaloosa News sees a lot of anti-Tebow hate down in Alabama, too.)

But there is a remedy.  The next time you think that Tebow is overrated or overexposed, ask yourself this question: Would I like to have him on my team?

If you’re honest and smart, your answer will be, “Hell, yes.”

And that should end your anti-Tebow backlash once and for all.  Hate the media coverage, don’t hate the player.



Here’s SI.com’s Stewart Mandel’s take on the anti-Tebow phenomenon.