ESPY Awards 2012: Tebow to Thomas Shoo-in for Best Moment Award

Tim Tebow is aiming for another upset.

The New York Jets quarterback and ex-teammate Demaryius Thomas are finalists for the 2012 ESPY Best Moment Award. The awkwardness of the pair being handed the trophy after Thomas’ “I wasn’t getting no balls”-comment is enough of a reason alone to vote for them. But in all seriousness, Tebow to Thomas has no true competitor in the voting process—it was the most memorable by far.

Other finalists for the award include Derek Jeter and his 3,000th hit, Bubba Watson and his Masters triumph and the insane end to the MLB regular season which included the Tampa Bay Rays’ hot streak and the Boston Red Sox collapse.

Jeter’s 3,000th hit was special. He’s the first New York Yankee in history to achieve the mark. But 27 other players in MLB history achieved the feat.

What? Were those other 27 players part of the best moment of the year when they pulled it off? Just because he reached the record off of a home run doesn’t mean that it’s more memorable than what Tebow accomplished.

Watson’s Masters victory was historic in that he won it in a playoff. He won that playoff in style as well. But let’s get real—Tiger Woods’ collapse in the tournament was arguably just as much of, if not a bigger story than Watson’s win.

While the final day of the MLB regular season was memorable, it was just the regular season. Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against the Texas Rangers and it isn’t like the Red Sox would’ve made noise either.

Unlike all of the other moments, Tebow’s is one that will never be forgotten. The unorthodox, controversial Denver Broncos quarterback was the biggest story of the 2011-2012 NFL season by far.

From the beginning of training camp, Denver fans were chanting Tebow’s name. But for every supporter he had, Tebow had twice as many doubters. The Merril Hoge’s, Boomer Esiasion’s, Jake Plummer’s and Stephen A. Smith’s of the world put a megaphone to their mouths and preached his inferiority to the nation.

After Kyle Orton was benched and Tebow took the Broncos’ reins, every week was another can’t-miss development in the saga. Each miracle win prompted I-told-you-so’s from Skip Bayless and friends as well as cries of, “Let’s see him do that against a respectable defense” from critics. Each letdown, though, turned Tebow into the pun of every joke throughout the league.

From the beginning of training camp through Week 17, Tebowmania ruled the NFL. His fans and critics were equally stubborn with their beliefs. One pass, though, shut them all up—well, the critics, of course.

The quarterback with laughable accuracy running a gimmick offense threw an 80-yard game-winning touchdown in overtime against the best defense in the NFL in a do-or-die battle.

Twitter never came closer to breaking than at that instant.

If Tebow to Thomas doesn’t win the Best Moment of 2012, Merril Hoge got his hands on the ballot box.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels