Moving On

Tim Tebow is a New York Jet. It's taken me a week to be able to write that without wincing. As most people know, I am a passionate Denver Broncos fan and a passionate Tim Tebow fan. So the events of the last seven days have been a blow. I wanted to write about it a few times, sometimes from a place of anger and sometimes from a place of depression. But I waited. Today and tomorrow, I will look at this event from what I hope is a more mature, rational perspective.

Today, it's all about Tebow.

I have been a fan of Tebow since his days at Florida. I love the Florida Gators, and I loved watching Tebow play. He won a pair of national championships, a Heisman Trophy, and a ton of games. But that wasn't the only reason I loved him. I loved the way he carried himself and what he stood for. That is a feeling that only grew as I read his book, "Through My Eyes." Tebow is an inspiring example as a Christian. We should all be so lucky as to carry ourselves with that level of class and grace.

When Tebow came out of college, there was a lot of doubt about his skills. Funny, when he came into college people said the same things. I watched and hope Tebow would get his shot. When he did, I couldn't believe it was with my favorite team, the Denver Broncos.

At the end of his rookie season, we finally saw a glimpse of all he could bring to the field. Then, last season, for a 1-4 team, we saw what Tebow can do. He didn't do it alone. It wasn't perfect. But it was a whole lot of fun. It was the kind of foundation you would assume one could build upon. But Denver leadership saw things differently.

In reading Tebow's book, and studying the situation, it's clear that the Broncos were never a totally comfortable fit. The coach who drafted Tebow — Josh McDaniels — was a mess. He had run the team in wildly unpopular directions, and even he didn't really seem to know what to do with Tebow. In fact, McDaniels traded for three quarterbacks — Kyle Orton from the Bears, Brady Quinn from the Browns, and draft picks to move up to get Tebow. None of them are still with the team two years later. That says something about the disarray of the organization.

When McDaniels was gone, it was clear that those that came in didn't really know what to do with Tebow. He won games, but they didn't see a future building around his strengths and didn't have the patience to help him mature, grow, and settle into a more mature player. I, personally, believe the team had material weaknesses that made Tebow's weaknesses worse, but that will be for tomorrow's look at the Broncos.

In the end, for as much as I love Tebow and wanted him on my favorite team, he probably deserved a fresh start. And, in some ways, he might be getting that with the New York Jets. The Jets want him for all the reasons the Broncos didn't. It's not an ideal situation, but it might be a place for him to prosper.

But more than anything, I know that Tebow is firm in his belief that everything is part of God's plan. Even in a moment where he's been cast aside callously by the team that drafted him, Tebow has been gracious. That, again, is a lesson we could learn from.