Denver Broncos: Why the Legend of Tim Tebow Can't Grow Big Enough

Tim Tebow.

That name brings about hysteria much the same way the name Barack Obama does at a Tea Party rally or much the same way Michael Jordan does at a Chicago Bulls game.

It all just depends upon your perspective on the man.

Do you love him? Do you get down and “Tebow” to thank God that he’s here playing football for you today rather than working on a mission trip?

Or do you hate him? Are you sick of his in-your-face Christianity? Do you wish he’d leave it alone and just play some damn football?

Many do. Many embrace it.

But whether you hate him or love him, Tim Tebow is here to stay.

The question remains, why is he so popular in the first place? What makes this very average NFL quarterback the talk of the world?

It’s simple: Tim Tebow is the one that wasn’t supposed to get here. He was not supposed to make it as a quarterback in the NFL, let alone in college.

In a scouting report of Tebow as a high-school prospect, JC Shurburtt  (writing for Rivals.com) wrote that Tebow “needs to work on accuracy, touch and gain a better grasp of the fundamentals of the passing game.”

That was in high school.

Now as an NFL prospect, those same questions remain. We all saw what he did at Florida. His leadership skills and will to win are off the chart. I think any man, woman or child would follow Tim Tebow onto the football field. No one questions that.

But no one believed this hard-working winner could become an NFL quarterback. He was supposed to get converted into a fullback upon entry into the NFL. He wasn’t supposed to be a first-round pick.

The experts were wrong on both fronts and Tebow was selected 25th by the Denver Broncos in 2010 as a quarterback. The Broncos weren’t ready to start him from day one, but he came on late in the season and threw for 300-plus yards as a rookie quarterback against the league’s worst pass defense – throwing for 300 yards as a rookie, regardless of whom it’s against, is impressive.

This year he came out of nowhere to lead the Broncos on a six-game winning streak, and won seven of his first eight starts after relieving Kyle Orton, bringing the franchise back to relevance when many thought it may be headed in the wrong direction.

His passing still needs work, but he did throw for 316 yards against the No. 1 pass defense in the league on Sunday.

The leadership skills we saw at Florida, the guy that proclaimed no college football player would work harder than him after his Gators lost to Ole Miss in 2008, is still in there. And that’s what so many people love about Tebow.

People love his work ethic mixed in with the matter of fact that everyone doubted him after Florida. In a sense, he’s like a 21st century Rocky Balboa.

The Italian Stallion was proclaimed to have too little talent, was deemed too small to be a heavyweight champion of the world. He, just like Tebow, had critics all over him telling him what he could and could not do.

Just like Tebow has done, Rocky continuously proved his critics wrong. And just like Rocky, Tebow is a guy most can relate to in some facet. He's not one of these superstars that has had everything handed to him. Everything he's earned he's had to work his tail off to gain.

As long as Tebow has people on his back, telling him everything he cannot do right, then the people will be there to support him. Or the critics will continue to hound him.

And as people continue to simply talk about his on the field performance, people will continue to talk about what he does off the field. The in-your-face Christianity builds his legend even more so because it brings God into the sports equation—a topic many people get uncomfortable with.

Whatever your opinion of him, Tim Tebow’s legend will continue to grow.

His critics, “underdog” stature, leadership skills, will to win and religion give him many different angles to take when discussing this player. He’s more than a triple threat, giving his legend many of angles to grow on.

Just watch how it’ll take off if he throws for 300 yards again next week in a victory over the New England Patriots.