Sat., Dec.22, 2012
Here is the latest in the ongoing effort to destroy a young man's career, no matter the expense...
Look, I am aware of the cliched outlook that is the way Gator fans are viewed with respect to Tim Tebow--ie. That "he can do no wrong so any BAD pub MUST be the result of some conspiracy against him", so until now I have tried to stay low key and reserved in my analysis regarding his treatment in New York AND the media at large, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
We were already well aware of the strange hostility that has steadily grown, both in breadth and intensity, in the media--not to mention the absurdity of the very same "major sports news outlets" that have covered his every move and activity AND the reaction to these AND the reaction to the REACTION etc etc.--presumably because (as I have been assured by folks at Neilsen and Arbitron, with whom I once had a professional relationship and still can all on "off the record") "just the mention of his NAME spikes ratings every time"--then complaining about the very coverage that THEY were and ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, culminating recently with "The Leader" ESPN announcing they would (trumpets and choir) "be covering Tebow less", then (like an addict who swears off his drug-of-choice, then proceeds to preach at everyone else about his wisdom and sobriety) trumpeting THIS news instead--THEN (like the same addict who just cannot help himself) slid quickly, quietly and inexorably back into their "addictive lifestyle"--the latest story (returning, FINALLY, to the football field) being of course not the real story, but the small piece that allows them to focus on bad things being said about him--best of all (from their POV) by the TEAM, about his PERFORMANCE.
Again, I am loathe to re-rant the whole tale, or even to remount the arguments against their validity, so I will simply highlight and contrast what I see as the two central and REVEALING points:
(1) According to the NY Daily News (then picked up by everyone else--ESPECIALLY, of course, ESPN), "sources inside the Jets organization" were "shocked at the poor play of Tebow in practice" when he first came to the Jets; meanwhile just as available but less widely reported (and not at all by ESPN, so has not received much "play" outside metro-NYC--talk about "picking and choosing"!), but ALSO from the Daily News,
(2) "Sources close to the team" were saying (and this only now being reported, even in NYC) that the Jets management "from the start were frozen in fear at the possibility that Tebow would excel, and put pressure on the fragile Sanchez", destroying his confidence from early in the season on, when they hoped to see him build on it.
Do I really have to analyze this for anyone here? I will say this much: when you consider what in fact happened instead, publicity-wise, in this same period, the whole sad mess becomes both clearer AND more strange. On the one hand, what came out during this time were the "anonymous", cowardly and back-stabbing complaints from TEAMMATES blaming Tebow for their team's (at that point) "poor play so far" this season--not only sleazy and dishonorable but OUTRAGEOUS, 'cause HE HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN A CHANCE TO PLAY! However, if you had a team of resentful players and a Coach and management who both NEEDED someone to blame AND were afraid that the guy THEY were banking on at QB (in their view) FEARED Tebow behind him, well, you get the idea of how these particular kinds-of-quotes from anonymous sources might "suddenly surface".
When it comes to any accusations of my "picking and choosing" which quotes and/or sources to believe, I say this: I believe that there WERE "sources" (as per #1 above) who said that stuff about Tebow's "poor play in practice", for it just FITS--not just with the other stuff said and going on at the time, and what we know and have subsequently SEEN of Sanchez' on-field performance AND the team's way of handling it AND Tebow (ie. with lies, incompetence, and blind stubbornness), but with the point made in #2 (which rings at LEAST as true) that the management WAS in fact "frozen in fear" that "Tebow would excell"...It is ALL "of a piece"--on its own, all put together, adding up and forming an "explanation" of the actual events we have witnessed.
On the other hand, and in a wider sense, of course, it doesn't really make any sense at all: Why did they GET Tebow in the first place? Was there some complete disconnect between owner , GM and Coach, that they then had to somehow "finesse" in this way once all actually spoke to each other? But then why didn't the OWNER (who spent a pile of money) put his foot down and say "Play him!" at some point (if only to please-the-fans), or the GM who negotiated with Denver AND made certain (much-PUBLICIZED) promises to Tebow, neither heeded nor fired-after-the-fact? In short: WHY DESTROY THE VALUE AND REPUTATION OF A PLAYER YOU WENT OUT OF YOUR WAY TO BRING IN, AT GREAT EXPENSE AND MUCH FANFARE, RATHER THAN PLAY HIM?!! When it comes to such questions I could go on...but Bottom Line: IT REALLY DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL.
They've put themselves in a personnel AND financial hole. The numbers are a financial nightmare for the Jets, basically requiring them to cut Tebow loose and pay him off in millions (either 8-and-a-half OR 17-point-something MILLION dollars, "depending...")--only getting SOME "cap value" back IF they pay him the HIGHER number and cut him loose entirely--either way with little or no compensation OR say as to what he or any other team does next with him. Could this POSSIBLY be the last bit of vindictive effort at "finishing the job" of character- and career-assassination, to try and make sure that he NOT get picked up by anyone and possibly further embarrass them by succeeding elsewhere? By word and deed they HAVE done everything possible to destroy #15's career--ie. wasting a year while they themselves said and did everything possible to degrade him, his value and potential as a professional quarterback. Personally, I have never seen anything like it.