Why Hate Tim Tebow?

This blog was inspired by a lot of friends’ statuses on Facebook and a short chat with my good friend Andy Pipes about Tim Tebow. The main thing I want to talk about is Tim Tebow the player but most importantly Tim Tebow the person…

One of hottest topics in the last couple of weeks in the sports’ world was Tim Tebow and the NFL Draft. Where was he going to go? When would he be drafted? How much had his throwing motion really changed? All that was answered on Thursday night when the Denver Broncos drafted him with the 25th pick of the First Round. He drafted ahead of Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy which to many people, myself included, thought was extremely surprising. I was watching the draft with a lot of my friends at school and as soon as he was drafted remarks were made that constantly belittled him as a person. You would have guessed this guy had done something wrong. To me, I was happy to see him drafted that high. I was happy to see that he is going to be given a chance. I was happy that Tim Tebow was getting exactly what he deserved and that was a fair shot at the NFL.

The past four years the country has watched the legend of Tim Tebow grow and grow. He accumulated award after award. He broke records. He won a Heisman. He was an All American. He won two National Championships. He had it all. But yet people continually bashed him. I never understood why. What did Tim Tebow do to deserve all the critics? Was it because he won football games for the University of Florida? Was it because the way he won games was so unique that others weren’t used to it? Was it because people were jealous that he had the college football world in the palm of his hand? There were certainly times that Tebow looked like THE Superman or the closest thing to Superman anybody has ever seen. He will go down as one of the most dominating college football players of all time. He is right there with Vince Young.

With the exception of Florida Gator fans, it seemed like the world watched and waited for Tebow to make a mistake. Any kind of mistake. Whether it was off the field or on it. Any mess up he had, people were all over it. One of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever saw was the backlash he got after he was seen crying after the loss at SEC Championship game to Alabama. Are you kidding me? The kid just gave everything he had in that game and it didn’t. I can guarantee you that he felt the weight and the pressure of the Gator fans to win that game to win an unprecedented third National Championship in four years. His entire senior year was ruined by one game. I can pretty much guarantee that anyone else that had a similar four years to that of Tebow would have done the same thing. I can remember my Senior Night in high school for baseball and once that game was over, it was pretty emotional. When we have put so much work into achieving one goal and that goal wasn’t accomplished no matter how hard we tried, it is a very trying moment afterwards. It is hard to deal with. People were ready to jump all over him about it and it was stupid. The kid poured his heart into the Florida Gator football program for 4 years and he felt like he let them down. Give him a break.

The next thing to talk about is the draft. Ever since the college football season ended, Tebow became the most scrutinized prospect in the draft. He struggled mightily in the Senior Bowl and many doubted he could play quarterback in the NFL. I guess people just assumed Tebow was going to be satisfied with his effort at the Senior Bowl? I don’t know? Tim is a great competitor and anyone that says otherwise is ignorant. He is going to work hard to change his delivery so that he will be able to play quarterback. I think it is stupid that people are just going to assume he can’t play without even giving him a chance. Let the kid play. Sure he needs to work on some things and might not be ready to play for a year or two. Many people forget that Carson Palmer didn’t play right away. I’m not saying Tebow will be a Carson Palmer or anything close to it but I am saying it is ridiculous to think that he shouldn’t play quarterback. Unless proven otherwise, he is going to be a NFL quarterback.

I’m saving the hottest issue for last and that is Tim Tebow the person. Everybody knows about his off the field work that he does. He is greatly involved with the church and goes on mission trips with his family. What some people don’t know is that Tebow was homeschooled in high school because his parents believed that it was important for him to grow in his faith and received the proper education that they didn’t think he would get at a public high school. Tebow is very active and from what I can tell, he is a great guy and great human being. Never have I heard anything bad about his character or any off the field issues and yet he is still frowned upon. Do we live in times where we look down upon people that aren’t afraid to stand up for the right things? Is it now a crime for someone to say or do something that he believes is right? Is it now bad to serve God through mission trips? Why is that so bad? Why do people have to find the negativity in that? If more people in the NFL were like Tim Tebow then incidents that occurred with Ben Roethlisberger would not be happening. The NFL has had some ugly marks put on the league in the last couple of years with Mike Vick, Pacman Jones, and Big Ben to name some of the few. In my eyes, Tebow is exactly the kind of player the NFL needs right now. They need that big name player to be able to show the fans that there are people out there that can make the right decisions with their lives…

People reading this might not agree with me because their “hate” for Tim Tebow is so strong but I will never truly understand why he is disliked so much. Never have I said that Tebow will be a Pro Bowl quarterback but I hope he becomes one. I hope that succeeds in the NFL. I hope he proves everyone wrong. I’m sure he will take personal satisfaction out of it but he won’t be rubbing it anyone’s face even though he deserves to do so. I believe Denver made a great pick and will be rewarded for giving a great person a chance to succeed. All it takes is one chance to prove people wrong… Just one chance…

2010 Baseball Preview

I’m just giving a little run down of what I think could happen this year in baseball. The season is almost here!

American League East
I have a pretty good feeling this division will once against belong to the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Rays have a good team and should be right there with the Yankees and Sox throughout the season so they can’t be left out. It will be interesting to see what they do with Carl Crawford at the trading deadline since he is in the final year of his contract. They can get some pretty good prospects for him. The Orioles are an improving team but still a couple of years away from competing for the division title. The Blue Jays have lost AJ Burnett and Roy Halladay in the last two off seasons so I don’t see them doing anything at all.

American League Central
I see this division being a three team race between the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers. The Tigers blew it last year and they also traded away Edwin Jackson so it will be interesting to see how they respond this year. The White Sox have one of the best overall pitching staffs in all of baseball and they have a pretty good bullpen too. Their pitching should keep them in enough games to be there at the end. The Twins are my favorites to win the division again. They always seem to produce just enough pitching and from the reports I’ve been reading, Francisco Liriano is back in top form which is not good for the AL Central. Oh and the Twins have possibly one of the best hitting catchers of all time on their roster and unless he is hurt, they will always have a chance. The Royals and Indians are still trying to play catch up but I can’t wait to see what Zack Greinke has in store for an encore performance this year.

American League West
For the first time in a long time I don’t see the Angels as being a threat in the West. This should be a close race between the Rangers and Mariners. I think the Rangers saw what it takes to win last year and now they are ready to make that next step. They need Rich Harden to be able to stay healthy and replace Kevin Millwood. They also need Josh Hamilton to stay healthy and produce the entire year. The Mariners have the best 1-2 combo in the American League with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee and they could even be better if Erik Bedard stays healthy because he can still pitch. I’m not too sure what to think about the A’s. They spent $10 million on Ben Sheets this off season but I just see that as being a rental and trading him away at the deadline for some prospects. They could be a surprise team though.

National League East
This is the Phillies division to lose. The Braves are closing fast but not fast enough. Cole Hamels has apparently returned to Cy Young form and now the addition of Roy Halladay makes their 1-2 combo one of the best in the National League. The Braves have a good, young rotation with Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson and they have Tim Hudson coming back. Jayson Heyward is a prospect to watch this year for them. The Mets have talent but I still don’t them contending for the division title. Note to Johan Santana, I’m sorry but Halladay is the best pitcher in the East. The Marlins have a good team returning with Hanley Ramirez and Chris Coghlan leading the way on offense and Josh Johnson being one of the most underrated pitchers in all of baseball. The Nationals are slowly improving and all eyes will be on the progress of Stephen Strasburg. For his sake, I hope he isn’t rushed to the big leagues and get hurt. He is an amazing talent.

National League Central
I really don’t see anyone having a team to compete with the Cardinals. They have the 2nd best 1-2 combo in the National League of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. They also have the best 3 hole and 4 hole hitters in Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Their bullpen has some question marks but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get that stuff fixed. The Cubs have a great team but they are always so inconsistent that I wouldn’t put my money on them. They need Carlos Zambrano to stay focused all year. The Brewers have good, young talent but I don’t think they have enough pitching to be taken seriously. The Red are my surprise team of the division. They have the pitching to really contend and a great offense behind Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Homer Bailey really emerged during the second half last year to go great behind Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto. If Aaron Harang has a bounce back year then things could get very interesting. The Astros could do better than expected if Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence continue to progress and Jason Castro is able to help the team. If Wandy Rodriguez is as good as last year and Roy Oswalt comes back from injury then they have a very respected 1-2 combo. Lance Berkman needs to have a huge year to get the offense going. The Pirates are going to suck and enough about them.

National League West
This is going to be the most competitive league in baseball. The Giants have the best 1-2 combo in baseball with Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain with Madison Bumgarner ready to step up behind them. I don’t think the Dodgers will be as good and that they will slowly come back to earth especially if Chad Billingsley is as bad as he had been in the 2nd half. The Rockies are basically bringing the same team back that won the Wild Card but they are getting Jeff Francis back from the disabled list to improve their pitching. The Diamondbacks are my surprise team of the year assuming Brandon Webb is healthy. Their 1-2-3 combo in the rotation is amazing. Webb, Dan Haren, and Edwin Jackson could be pretty hard to beat. I think they have a chance to surprise a lot of people especially if Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds have big years for them in the middle of the line-up. I do not expect the Padres to do anything but it should be interesting to see if they trade Adrian Gonzalez at the deadline.

Playoff Predictions
Divisional Round:
Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Rangers
Phillies over Giants
Cardinals over Braves

Championship Round:
Yankees over Red Sox
Phillies over Cardinals

World Series:
Phillies over Yankees

A Call to Leadership

Tonight I was giving the opportunity to attend a dinner a Minute Maid Park in Houston and it was sponsored by a good family friend, Coach Glen Estopinal, and the MVP Foundation. The theme of the dinner was leadership. I was able to hear Coach and Mr. Lou Presutti, the founder of Cooperstown Dreams Park, talk about leadership and it got me thinking about the idea. So I guess I could say that this dinner inspired me to write this.

A majority of people that hear the word leadership hear it in relation to sports. When sports fans think of a player that is a leader usually people like Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, and Lebron James come to mind. Their teammates look up to them to lead the way. As basic as that sound it is true. But leadership doesn’t just have to pertain to sports. It also pertains to life. There are many leaders out in the world and you don’t have to be a high ranking official to be a leader. Anyone can be a leader. However, not everyone has what it takes to be a leader…

A leader is someone that is not afraid to take action. A leader is someone that is ready to take that first. A leader is someone that shines in the highest moments of life but shines even brighter in the lowest moments of life. A leader is not afraid to admit mistakes. A leader also will not make that same mistake. A leader is someone who is willing to lay everything on the line for any one person. A leader is someone who can gain the trust of others. A leader has your back at all times even in the most difficult situations. A leader is willing to push others to be better. A leader is not going to let someone get in the way of their dreams. But more importantly a leader is not afraid to stand up for what is right even if it is not the popular thing to do…

There are so many other things that a leader can be and those are just some of the important things. Being a leader has a lot of responsibilities and that person has to be willing to accept those responsibilities. To all of those who read this, this is a call to leadership. Do you have what it takes to be a leader? When someone is in need are they going to look at you as someone they can count on or just another person? It is up to you. You can never have too many leaders and the world needs more of them…

Bama Won... End of Story...

First off, I want to clear some things up. My favorite college team is Illinois and it always will be. I am a loyal fan to Illinois regardless if they are playing in the Rose Bowl or finishing the year at 3-9. I also have no problem saying that they sucked this year in football. I will not sit here and make excuses for their pitiful performances this year… Now, of all the college teams in Texas, I am a Texas A&M fan. People think that means I “hate” Texas but I do not. I just choose to cheer against them and I cheered against them on Thursday…

For all of you A&M, Tech, OU, Nebraska, and whoever else were cheering and talking trash against Texas in the national championship this is for you. I guess someone misinformed me about who was playing in the national championship. From reading a lot of comments from other fans you would have thought Texas was playing in the Independence Bowl against Georgia… Oh wait, that was A&M who finished the season with a LOSING record and you LOST to Texas regardless of how well you played against them. I guess that is enough to talk smack to a team far superior to you in talent… That makes a ton of sense. That goes for every other team that lost to Texas this year. You LOST and Texas won… End of story…

I will also not sit here and question Colt McCoy’s toughness. He is the only one that knows if he could have come back in the game and I will leave it at that. It was sad to see him go out the way he did. He was a good competitor and it isn’t surprising that he will leave college as the quarterback with the most wins. Congrats on a great career. You fall under the same category as Derrick Roland of the Texas A&M basketball team as worst way to end your senior year…

Now to talk about the game, I’m confused as to who won? I could have sworn Alabama did. Wasn’t the final score 37-21 or something like that? And I think Alabama had 37. I understand that losing McCoy was a huge loss. I will not deny that. But I cannot figure out how Garrett Gilbert was not prepared for that game. Isn’t he the second string quarterback? I guess that is why he came out there after McCoy was hurt but he was clearly not prepared for that game especially in the first half. The last football game Texas played was December 5^th. They had over a month to prepare for that game and Gilbert wasn’t ready? That is a mistake by the coaches. McCoy is not superman. He is great but not even close to superman. To me there is no excuse why all 2^nd string and even 3^rd string players should not be able to be ready to go into the game at any point after having a month to prepare for the biggest game. People will use the argument that Gilbert is a true freshman. Yes I agree that it was a tough situation for him to come into. To me the “true freshman” excuse is no good either. Matt Barkley for USC went to the Horseshoe and beat Ohio State as a true freshman and I can guarantee you that the atmosphere was almost as similar to that of the National Championship. Even if McCoy is hurt you still have to have a quarterback out there playing. You still have to play with the players you have. You still have to prepare your players to play even if they are the back up to one of the most prestigious quarterbacks to ever play college football. And that is the same for every sport. In baseball you prepare your pitchers for every game the same way regardless if it Roy Oswalt, C.C. Sabbathia or Brian Moehler or the next big prospect. If they aren’t prepared they aren’t going to succeed. It is as simple as that. At least if you are prepared you have been given that chance to have a chance. From what I could tell he was not prepared but they were able to make halftime adjustments and I give credit to Texas for that. The kid will be the next great quarterback at Texas.

One thing that annoyed me about the game is how sure Texas fans were so sure they would have won if McCoy had played. There is no guarantee that would have happened. I can promise you that Alabama’s game plan on offense changed immensely once McCoy was out of the game. I can also promise if McCoy had played, McElroy would have thrown more than 8 passes. I would have to imagine that Texas knew they were going to get a heavy dose of running from the Bama offense and they had to know Bama was going to run even more once McCoy was out. Yet, they still gave up 205 yards in the running game. So, having said that, I don’t think Texas fans can say they would have won if McCoy hadn’t been hurt. Would their chances have been better? Yes. Was Texas the better team with McCoy? We will never know. You can only guess and that is the end of that.

In the end, Alabama won 37-21. Alabama is the National Champion and I don’t think there should be a mark against them for winning. They won the game they had to win. Both teams had outstanding seasons and it won’t be long before both of them are in the National Championship again. I know for Texas fans it is easy to come up with excuses for why they lost but hopefully you will understand where I am coming from.