Esquire Magazine should stick to 'other'

by Patrick Imig, DriveByOnline's hired media gun

The Tebow is news beyond the sports world. This fact brings to light the pundit fools in the world of "pop culture" and the "mainstream". An example of this phenomenon is the article titled "Tim Tebow, Man of Millions" by Tom Junod at Esquire. Here's what Junod said after the Patriots defeated the Broncos:

Tebow's story is a religious one, and everybody knows it. Take away the element of religion and his win streak over mostly terrible teams in mostly "defensive struggles" is reminiscent of Vince Young's rookie year with the Titans. 

Correction: part of Tim Tebow's story is a religious one. Those who focus only on the element of faith are missing out. It isn't a black or white issue. It's real life and real life is filled with a lot of gray area. The Tebow story isn't simply one "type" of story. There's a whole world of reactions to the Tebow. One of them, for example, is the element of (gasp) football! In that world of football, the mostly terrible teams Denver has defeated include the Raiders, Chiefs, Jets and Chargers. If those teams are mostly terrible, the NFL has a terrible pool of coaching and player talent. 

There's more from Junod ...

Brady, of course, is styled as the anti-Tebow, and not only because of his limited mobility, ruthless efficiency, and unmatched fluency with the ball, but also because of his pride.

Okay stop. Re-read that line. Okay. It's blasphemy. BLASPHEMY I SAY! The Tebow has pride. To think the Tebow has no (self)-pride is one hundred percent stupid. Maybe it comes from Junod's ignorance in thinking that Tebow is controlled by "religion" or "God" or "Jesus" and doesn't think for himself or act on his own. Everything he does is God's doing because Tebow is a puppet and God is stringing him. Right. Tom, one can have faith in their God and have faith in his or herself. It's usually a two way street. 

A sixth-round draft choice who turned himself into one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, he has his own tale of transformation, but he has always told it in terms of his own rigorous self-belief rather than in terms of his belief in supernatural forces.

Tebow doesn't work hard and doesn't believe in himself. Hey Tom Junod: you're wrong and have no clue what you're talking about. Your word is worthless. Take the money you earned from your article of garbage and donate it to the Salvation Army. While you might see the Salvation Army as "religious", others see it as humanitarian or kind. Humanitarian ... you know, like the Tebow going overseas to perform missionary work! Is that "religious", Tom? Maybe if you interpreted it differently, you'd realize it's nothing worth getting fussy over. Now untwist your panties out of the knots and admit that in the world of football, the Tebow and the Denver Broncos are compelling. (The early ratings for the game say it's the highest rated CBS game in four years).

A final bag of trash from Junod: 

Now, Tim Tebow does not — and, for now, cannot — complete 60 percent of his passes. He's strong, so he can shot-put and corkscrew the ball all over the field, but he often looks like he's throwing the ball away when he's not, and he avoids interceptions by coming nowhere near his intended receiver. It would be tempting to say that none of this matters to the legions he has inspired, but of course it's all that matters: Because Tim Tebow is a religious figure rather than an athletic one, the limitations of his talent wind up testifying to the potency of his faith.

Junod has distorted reality so much that in his mind, anyone who supports Tebow in any capacity or form is a blind follower or loyalist. The reality is that in the world of football, Tebow has plenty of talent. It's not rocket science, it's a cold hard football axiom: when you minimize interceptions and score touchdowns you have a really good shot at winning. Winning is all that matters in football, after all.

RIDICULOUS OVERREACTIONS FROM NBC SPORTS
Cris Collinsworth: "The Eagles are kind of like the San Diego Chargers. Boy If they got in, you'd say 'maybe'. You know!? Maybe. They're certainly talented enough!"

Al Michaels: "How about a Kansas City/Philadelphia Super Bowl? I mean, it's still possible!"

Rodney Harrison: New England's pass defense is "much improved".

Ladies and gentlemen, this is crazy talk. And Michaels and Collinsworth need to be disbanded soon. They talk about how old they are at the end of games, like two cackling, elderly women.

To read the rest of this column on Cold Hard Football Facts dot com, click here.

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