The "Tebow Thing"

[DRU2012]

This probably belongs in the "Tebow Watch" thread, but I guess it has become "current" again:

I'm not much of an "NFL Guy" anymore--I don't think I have to explain to THIS crowd all the ways I find the college game superior in general, PLUS how much deeper my connection with and affinity for my alma mater runs than it ever can or will with any particular big city, let alone the financier- and/or corporate-owned club of hired hands that supposedly represents that town. I don't even follow former Gators that closely once they move on, for similar reasons (not to mention the fact that so few find stand-out success in the pros).
It is different with TT, though--he was such a transcendent figure as a player and a person, a "TOTAL GATOR AND PROUD OF IT", of course I want to see him on the field, see him do well--and all the nay-sayers only heighten this feeling. I've never been a Broncos fan (nor an Elway fan--for one thing, I always resented what's-his-name--I refuse to actually name him--his Broncos Head Coach who was our OC for a year and parlayed that success into a job with Denver in the pros, but thereafter refused to ever mention or acknowledge this timely opportunity with UF), but that will naturally change when Tim's under center. We know the magic he can work in the midst of wild confusion onfield; like so many others, I want to see it again. Like Tiger, on his game, making a run at the leaders on the tournament's final day (and similarly, I'm NOT a golf fan, but THAT I'll watch), there is something absolutely riveting watching #15 relentlessly moving his team down the field.
I am not surprised by all the haters; as Gators we're used to this, and #15 has come to embody Gator-mystique to all the folks "out there". It STILL doesn't sit well with me, though, to witness the tone it has more and more taken, and the manner in which certain media members have "fanned the flames", have even apparently managed to carry this frenzy into the Bronco locker room.
I'll leave it to y'all to comment on this and related impressions, but there's one more point I'd like to make:
A lot of the talk the last couple of days has been about how good or bad this or that guy looks on the practice field, how Orton has more experience and is a better "fit in this system". That may well be true (for the moment), but here are two important caveats: First, you've got to work with what you've got; a quarterback depends upon the RB's, WR's and linemen he has around him, and a good coach adapts his SYSTEM to that unit's skills. Second, be careful the conclusions you draw from practice alone; some QB's are "Practice Beasts" (you know what I'm talking about here, fellow Gators!)--but in the end what matters is how they actually perform when it counts, and you had better take THAT into account. I won't say it's an automatic that it's "Tebow Time" (I could see giving him another portion of a season to start the experienced-Orton and phase TT in--IF they HAVE that luxury), but when you factor in actual game-performance, the other arguments in Orton's favor are somewhat mitigated, to say the least.

 

[Leakfan12]

Well it looks like that it's Orton's team (for now) though sounds like the players want Orton as the starter. Tebow got in a bad situation with the coach who drafted him is gone and two people (coach John Fox and VP John Elway) who I'm not sure with pro-Tebow people or not. Well when they were rumors spread about trading Orton to Miami I thought it would have been Tebow but it didn't happen. See what happen's in the preseason.

 

[DRU2012]

It's getting to be a soap opera--exactly what Tebow didn't (and DOESN'T) need...and you're right, of course: the whole way this has played out, the coach who drafted him 'cause he believed in him gone before the promised "patient development" had a chance to even get going, and now this whole back-and-forth and management's (read "Elway's...") fork-tongued-approach to player development, coupled with a rising clash between teammates' supposed sentiment and that among the fans, completely clouds all aspects of the issue. Obviously, Elway and his manipulative cronies feel they can now play this however they like and have an "out" either way--but the TRUTH is that if you're hiding behind either the players' OR the fans' preferences you're going to end up with a real mess. The Bronco management is well on their way to this seeming inevitability by now. Like Tebow himself, I can't root for injury to see him get a shot--and if he isn't getting the reps before suddenly being thrust into the role as a result of that scenario, his chances at success are severely limited. Unfortunately, he'll probably have to go elsewhere to get a fresh, fair shot, and the sooner the better.

 

[Escambia94]

I am sure the rest of you can associate, especially DRU, but it is tough reading these headlines about little Timmy Tebow and then going to work, being surrounded by non-SEC fans (I am in Texas), and having to defend Tebow. I am selfishly rooting for Tebow to prove everyone wrong just so I can have a good day at the office water cooler talking about sports. Last year it sucked that the Gators provided plenty of fodder for the Gator bashers. My only saving grace was that I could fire back with scathing comments on the Texas ShortHorns. However, there is no excuse when you get beat down by your archival. Even Alabama and Auburn fans can be nice and sympathetic to Florida fans when we lose to an SEC team, but never to a non-SEC rival. Even Alabama and Auburn fans (note that I make no mention of UGA fans...jerks) will step up at the water cooler and defend Tebow. The older Bama fans that liked Coach Shula are especially supportive of Tebow, since Shula heavily recruited Tebow and even supported him when Timmy went to Florida. Little Timmy Tebow has that effect on people--earning people's support and respect--assuming that people can get past their hatred of Florida Gators. I can only hope that Tebow will earn his spot on the Broncos or wherever he may play in the future, but I do not foresee Timmy getting a fair shake in Denver with a new coach, a new micromanaging manager, and an impatient owner.

 

[DRU2012]

What's interesting down here in Texas is that in addition to the Muschamp connection (which for the most part media and fans here are doing their best to ignore/avoid/forget...after all, I guess, the idea that someone could PREFER to bolt from "the 40 acres"--and/or that Mack and Co. could let him slip AWAY, is an uncomfortable sign of a number of issues they'd rather continue to deny), is that there are in fact a number of parallels between the Gators and the Horns going into the 2011 season, and in fact these are often deeper and more problematical short- and long-term for Texas.
The two general and most important of these are at QB and in terms of depth. Like us, Texas TOO has had a pretty expansive coaching overhaul (not quite as dramatic as ours, since Mack is still here, but otherwise pretty thorough), and while (also similar to us) there's no lack of talent, the great majority is inexperienced or outright untried. Where our whole team last year was a "square peg in a round hole" run by an idiot, we somehow came through with a winning record and impressive Bowl win; The Longhorns supposedly had all the parts, generally ran it "Mack's Way", and went 5-and-7. I'll take OUR starting point from here over theirs in a heartbeat.
The UT(SW) team and its fans would do well to mind their OWN problems and concerns--not that THAT will be heeded, nor will it stop them from deriding us and continuing to assume that somehow they are just better than everyone else, and destined for inevitable dominance.

 

[Escambia94]

Poor UTsw. I would like to watch them flounder for a year just to quiet these guys down. They remind me of FSU at times, but there are more of.them and the girls are uglier.

 

[DRU2012]

Poor UTsw. I would like to watch them flounder for a year just to quiet these guys down. They remind me of FSU at times, but there are more of.them and the girls are uglier.

(laughing) You're right--on BOTH counts!
(Now, the women at TX State--formerly SWT--over in San Marcos, that's a different story altogether, am I right?)

 

[Escambia94]

I have not encountered women from San Marcos. I only travel through the area or visit the outlet mall.

 

[DRU2012]

Oh, if you ever have the time and/or opportunity, stroll around the campus in "downtown" San Marcos (it's more of a "town" than a "city", as I'm sure you've noticed) on a Fall morning, and/or go for a drink in the area in the afternoon/evening, just for the "people-watching" alone. For one thing, as I understand it for some reason the ratio of women-to-men is 2-to-1 at that institution. For another, well, not wanting to risk (further?) offending anyone, I'll just say that maybe there's something in the water, and leave any scientific and/or cultural explanations to someone else...but, damn!
(For anyone interested in another approach, right now, August is the PRIME time to take a "float tube" down the Brazos...it's like our Itchitucknee (I KNOW I got that spelling wrong!), Texas Hill Country-style, with similar access to tubes, shuttles, etc., and the river tends to be dominated this time of year by young Bobcat women--and it is by all accounts a full-on, bumper-to-bumper party.)

 

[Escambia94]

WTH? Only fat, ugly, burnt-orange clad women float down the Comal on tubes!

 

[DRU2012]

I'm tellin' ya--not the Comal: word is that "the place to go" (if you're so inclined) is the Brazos, above where it runs into the Guadalupe...most assuredly NOT a burnt-orange, Longhorn crowd. Anyway, that's what I'm told, but this is admittedly second hand info at best. I CAN speak first hand about what that means, genetically speaking, if they're Bobcats: a whole lot of healthy blonds. If you know the history of that particular stretch of south-central Texas real estate, who settled it and how that is reflected in the prominent families and place-names there today (eg. think "Schlitterbahn"), you'll have some idea of what I'm referring to.
As for that notorious scene on the Comal, where beercans, trash and the odd near-comatose 18-yr-old Longhorn freshman litter river-front properties along the river by sundown each evening in August, I can only shudder at the image. Can't say whether Bobcats are any better behaved, only that they are much more likely to be attractive.
Now, those out partying and pursuing a hook-up or a drunken stupor on the river aren't exactly MY crowd (not anymore), so I'll just stick with my original recommendation of that stroll near campus when school's in session.
If you're a "people watcher" (or you're just in the area with some time on your hands), trust me on this one.

(Just one more note on this train-of-thought, and then I leave it alone for good:
There are two places I go to for my own idea of a "good day on the river". For just the day, I head to Pedernales Falls State Park, out towards Johnson City...clear, cool, fast-moving rapids and falls--the dogs love it, too. When I have at least a weekend, it's Guadalupe River State Park: primitive campsites right on the river, which has its faster, tumbling sections AND deep, quiet dark pools hidden away where you can swim alone or with a "friend", and with all the animal life about--the State Park is partially surrounded by a large State Wildlife Refuge--if you're quiet they'll just carry on their normal activity within sight...Now, if you have a BOAT and you're heading up this way, then--uh, OK, enough's enough.)