Eight years ago, Tim Tebow was on top of the football world, carrying the Denver Broncos to the NFL playoffs. Currently, Tim Tebow is a professional baseball player for the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate — the Syracuse Mets. This massive transformation can perfectly summarize Tebow’s sporting career: a confusing mess. But, if there is one thing Tebow will be remembered for, it will be his incredible leadership at the University of Florida.
As a freshman, Tebow inserted his name into Florida Gator lore. Tebow was Florida’s Swiss army knife. Despite losing the starting quarterback job, Tebow contributed to Florida’s 2007 BCS National Championship in various ways. He finished as Florida’s second-leading rusher and passed for five touchdowns, including one in the national championship. However, it wasn’t until 2007 when Tebow cemented his legacy in college football.
Tebow won the Heisman trophy in 2007 after arguably the greatest college football season of all time. He passed for 3,286 yards with 32 touchdowns and ran for 895 yards along with 23 touchdowns. It was a record-shattering season for Tebow, and when they fell short of the national championship, it resulted in sky-high expectations for the 2008 season.
Florida’s lone loss of the 2008 season came on Sept. 27 to Ole Miss. It was a massive upset; Ole Miss was unranked and narrowly defeated Florida 31-30. Tebow’s final chance at a victory was thwarted by the Rebels, who stopped him short on fourth down the last play of the game. An emotionally distraught Tebow took to the podium after the game and changed the course of that Florida team’s history forever.
“But I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this.
“You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season, and you will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.
“God bless.”
Tim Tebow backed up his speech in a resounding way: it propelled the Gators to a BCS National Championship. The Florida Gators did not lose another game that season and outscored opponents 611-181. They were dominant and Tebow’s speech was the motivation they needed to get the job done.
Tebow’s leadership carried over into the 2009 season and into his NFL career. He’s passionate about his work and shows concern to those looking up to him. His six come-from-behind victories in 2011 with the Broncos were a direct result of his desire to inspire others.
Since his career ended at Florida, a statue in his honor has been erected at Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin and a plaque engraved with his “Promise” speech is located on the side of the stadium.
Today, Tim Tebow still inspires others through his charitable work. The Tim Tebow Foundation works to combine faith and love as a vehicle to improve the lives of others. Tebow has also written multiple best-selling books and works for ESPN as a college football analyst. Through it all, he remains a devout Christian.
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