Time For a Repost?

I'm working on a new article about Denver and their new favorite son, but in the meantime, I thought this was worth a repost.

Why should the Broncos keep Tim Tebow?

In a word, because Tim Tebow has ‘IT’.

The 2010 draft day maneuvers of the Denver Broncos are still questioned.  They traded to get back into the first round in order to acquire the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida, when very few people thought he was even worthy of a second round pick….let alone a first.  No one can question either the number of wins or stats he amassed in college, but nobody knew if his skills (both playing ability and leadership) would translate to the NFL game.

Many years ago, NBC did a five minute special on athletes who have ‘IT’.  Mohammed Ali had ‘IT’ and the special said that, in tennis, Andre Agassi did too.  Other athletes were also named, but the bottom line was that athletes who had ‘IT’, had the ability to touch every person in the arena in which they were competing.  It didn’t matter if the spectator was in the front row or in the highest nosebleed seat, athletes with ‘IT’ could draw them to the action like few others.

For several reasons Tim Tebow is a polarizing figure, whether it be his suitability as an NFL QB or his religious views.  It doesn’t matter what side people fall on these issues, it’s hard to stop watching when he’s on the field.  He has the ability with the Denver Broncos and he definitely had the ability to draw even non-casual fans in when he played at the University of Florida.   Tim Tebow has ‘IT’. 

In the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Broncos took two character players, Tebow and Demaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech.  You may question why Thomas is considered a ‘character pick’, but when the Broncos selected him, Dez Bryant was still available, and the Broncos clearly were avoiding the character issues that Bryant carried with him from college.  Bryant was ruled ineligible for the 2009 Oklahoma State season due to not properly reporting his interactions with Deion Sanders.

By trading Tim Tebow, as Peter King reported as a possibility on NBC, the Broncos will lose their one player with ‘IT’.  Having struggled through watching the 2010 Denver Broncos’ season, the last three games looked different than the first 13.  Yes, they finished 1-2 in those games, but Tebow’s presence as a starter energized that team.  His ‘IT’ factor, affected not only the fans, but his teammates as well.

Trading Tebow will negatively affect a Broncos’ fan base that has been more disenfranchised with the organization this season than in the last 20+ years.  Tebow was a bright spot in Denver amid the muck that Josh McDaniels left in his wake.  Why not keep the guy who positively affects the team and fans, is a good role model and who also sells a lot of jerseys?  (Unfortunately the NFL is also a big business.)

Obtaining numerous draft picks would help the Broncos, but not if they have to give up the one guy in the organization with ‘IT’.