Tim Tebow's Tabloid Dreams Are Over
When Tim Tebow came from Denver to the New York Jets, everyone knew the New York tabloids would be all over him. At least they lived up to expectations. For his part, Tebow rarely saw the field, so the Jets released the embattled quarterback Monday morning.
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Perhaps fittingly for the city and the man, Tebow's time with the Jets will be remembered more for the unending media hype than anything he actually did under center. And it was a local tabloid story turned national, with seemingly every outlet from TMZ to the Newark Star-Ledger going full-on New York Post at one point or another: ESPN went full Tebow, saying his name ad nauseam and drawing sharp criticism for coverage a guy who almost never played; there was that beefcake-y profile in Vogue, which deemed him "Superman" because, well, why not? A good-looking, god-fearing, occasionally miracle making quarterback, come to save the Jets from middling QB Mark Sanchez? What's not to love?
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Well, it's easier to love a quarterback who can actually, you know, throw the ball. At least that gives everyone an excuse to keep talking. Except Superman, after all that, completed a total of six passes last season, for 39 yards.
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If the writing wasn't already on the wall for Tebow, it got penciled in Friday night at the NFL Draft, when the Jets took West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith. The New York papers, from the Post to the Daily News to the New York Times, all speculated that Smith's arrival might mean the eventual kissing goodbye of Sanchez, the starter, and perhaps the immediate dismissal of Tebow, his sometimes backup. And then there was ESPN's Adam Schefter, normally a reliable football gossip, reporting that the Jets were thinking about releasing Sanchez and keeping Tebow, which would have been really expensive. Releasing Tebow was not. The axe fell on the cheaper chicken.
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So where does God's favorite quarterback go from here? ESPN already moved on to a new babyface NFL player to gab about endlessly. There were always whispers Tebow would end up playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, his hometown team, but they said in January they aren't interested. (Though they didn't select a proper quarterback in the draft and they desperately need one.) Tebow could head up north to the Canadian Football League, but coaches aren't sure he'll work out there, either. Last stop: the embarrassing Arena Football League, where they are ready to welcome him with arms wide open.
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