A Dawg's Final Take on Tim Tebow

It will go down as one of the most tragic moments in sports history. Tim Tebow, the most acclaimed and heralded college athlete of our generation, knelt crying uncontrollably as the camera zoomed in and captured it all.

And the heckling ensued. Tim Tebow's tearful ending to the SEC Championship game resulted in an immediate tidal wave of jokes and criticism.

Even I found most remarks rather hysterical.

"December 12:5, And Tebow Wept"

"Tim Tearbow"

"God is a Tide Fan"

It's kind of upsetting considering most of these slappy jokes have religious implications, but for any college football fan there has not been a sweeter image than that of Tebow's sorrowful end.

However, as I sat and watched the awesomeness of seeing Mark Ingram do the Gator chomp and heard the roughly 35,000 Alabama fans raise the decibel level through the roof of the Georgia Dome, I kind of felt bad for Tim Tebow.

I knew the harsh retaliation from former victims of Tebow's wrath would commence immediately. My brother logged on Facebook to the greeting of dozens of status' pertaining to Tebow.

I guess nothing could be more embarassing than crying on national television.

But darn it Tim Tebow, I kind of wanted to scoot on down I-75 from my home to Atlanta and give you a big pat on the back.

Tebow is responsible for the 49-10 and 41-17 defeats on my own Georgia Bulldogs. He has won everything I wish my Bulldogs could win. He has appeared on T.V. more than any other athlete for the past three years.

And everyone outside of Gainesville, Florida, hates him. I, myself, even wrote a lengthy article on how excessively glorified Tim Tebow was. I doubted his abilities and said he will not make it in the NFL.

But, I said in that article I respect him, and I stand by my claim. Although I bleed red and black on most fall weekends, I kind of felt bad myself bleeding some doses of blue and orange yesterday.

For all of those who have gone out of their way so promptly to blog and chat about how epic it was to see the tragic fall of Tim Tebow, I insist that you remove your bias and salute him.

Okay, so maybe my subtle Roman emperical, gladitorial reference is a bit too extreme, but Tebow's loss has been illustrated by naysayers as epic of the fall of Rome.

We, as fans, love to build our hate in callus among callus and then overwhelm the enemy with retaliation when it's weakened.

But for a guy like Tim Tebow, no matter what opposing fanbase you belong to, respect has been well earned.

It wasn't Tebow's fault the media fell in love with him. Sure, there seems to be a strange correlation with losing and weeping for No. 15, but what Tebow represents is pure class and integrity.

In today's society, we do not glorify the righteous, but rather the flashy. I'm sick of hearing about major athletes and their wreckless shenanigans.

This week we got to hear about Ron Artest and his drinking issues. We got to hear about how Tiger Woods cheated on his wife with a lot of ridiculously less attractive and trashy individuals might I add.

As an Atlantan, I'm hearing all the buzz on Michael Vick, his return to the Georgia Dome, and how some fans are somewhat content with what he did.

Then we get to hear about Pacman Jones and how he could never learn his lesson. We get to hear about the most talented running back of all time, Adrian Peterson, speeding 109 mph down a highway.

These privledged people, who are living the American dream, so often take their place in society for granted.

I truly believe that the biggest benefit of being a star athlete isn't the multimillion dollar contracts or the luxury of being able to claim sport as a profession (two fantastic things just to clear up), but rather the opportunity to set examples for onlookers.

Tim Tebow has gone out of his way to do just that. Not only is he an incredible college football player, but his off the field representation of our country, as well as humanity, is powerful.

Yesterday, Tebow eye's red, kept to his usual post game interview routine by ending it with "God bless."

He is known for his missionary work and commitment to the community and in turn, has been an incredibly positive representation of society.

Maybe it was a good thing the media fell in love with Tim Tebow, someone had to show us just how awesome of a guy he really is.

Sure, the jokes are acceptable and all a part of sports fanhood. But, as someone who has dropped joke after joke myself, and condones the jokes, I felt it was also completely necessary to give an honest and sportsfan-less evaluation of all of the great things Tim Tebow has done for college football and people around the globe.

The Florida Gator version of Tim Tebow is one that I will joke about and hate forever.

But, the football player and ambassador version of Tim Tebow is one that I and the rest of the sports world should embrace and have the highest appreciation for.

But, thank the lord he will not be an SEC team's problem ever again! Maybe it just takes a real man to shed the tears in front of millions of people?