One of my TV-watching habits is rather quirky.
See, I’m a huge fan of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”
But with the schedule I’ve kept this semester, PTI hasn’t always fit into my daily schedule.
So I catch up on my DVR whenever possible. It’s weird to hear previews of events that already happened, but it’s also quite fascinating to see how some things were predicted. On Tuesday, I got a chance to watch Friday’s episode, including a segment previewing the SEC Championship Game.
Unsurprisingly, much of Tony Kornheiser’s reasoning for picking Florida to win had to do with Tim Tebow at the helm. One particular quote stuck out to me.
“I love the fact that every time they have to win, they win,” Kornheiser said. “And they have to win this one.”
I had a similar sentiment before the game. Whenever I sat down to decide who had the matchup advantage, Tebow kept coming to mind.
The guy just didn’t lose.
I feel like I’ve written that sentence a hundred times — and felt corny doing it every time — but it’s remarkable how much that legacy seems a little lessened today.
Florida won 22 straight games before being taken out behind the woodshed by Alabama. Before then, it seemed like no matter what happened, Tebow would will the Gators to victory.
The very idea of that sounds absurd, of course, since Tebow plays one of 11 offensive positions, never lines up on defense, and I haven’t seen him run back kicks or take field goals yet.
But in a way, Saturday’s loss made Tebow seem even more impressive to me.
Sure, he’d walked off the field in defeat before — but never on a stage like the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
Tears flowed, and anyone who has ever wanted something so bad knew exactly how Tebow felt at that moment. Everything he worked toward for a year was lost in a single night.
But I came away with an even greater respect for him, because he didn’t make history.
Think about it — if Florida had won another national title, Tebow would’ve left Gainesville a winner in 24 straight games. He would’ve uttered The Promise after the Ole Miss loss, ran off a perfect record and then waved goodbye at his third national title celebration ceremony in four years.
That isn’t real — it’s fantasy. It’s Hollywood. It’s perfect.
He would’ve been remembered as a mythical figure — and rightfully so — but who can really associate themselves with someone who doesn’t fail?
Saturday’s loss made Tebow 100 percent human. It made him real.
The best player in Florida football history failed in a way, and it made me appreciate him more.
His defense gave him no support. His coaching staff didn’t give him much help. His running backs never got the chance to lend him a hand. But Tebow, in his typical fierce competitor style, will likely only remember that he didn’t get it done on a national stage.
And that failure should make everyone realize just how great his other successes were.
Even if it took a four-day-old PTI broadcast to make that obvious to me.
