Tim Tebow: Man or Meteor?

Patrick.Gladney, January 14 2012

For diehard NFL fans, football is like religion. On any given Sunday, fans congregate in hopes that they’ll witness the next Immaculate Reception, Music City Miracle or Hail Mary that will take their team to the promised land.

One of the big stories this year as been the ascendence of Tim Tebow, devout Christian, and now the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Tebow, a two time Heisman Trophy winner for the University of Florida, has been riding the pine for his first two years in the NFL, achieving more fame and notoriety for his off-field interests pertaining to the pro-life movement.

But this year, with his team off to a dismal 1-4 start, Tebow got his opportunity to shine. He replaced first string QB Kyle Orton during a game versus the San Diego Chargers (go Bolts!) and almost led his team to a dramatic come from behind victory, foreshadowing a string of remarkable comebacks that ultimately helped his team win the AFC west and a ticket to the post season. And in last week’s wildcard game, Tebow’s magic continued with an 80 yard passing play in overtime to wipe-out the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers.

Thus, the Tebow phenomenon was born, in real life, and online. Every Sunday as the Broncos entered the fourth quarter, online battle-tweets shouting “Teeeeeeeebbbbboooooooowwwwwwwww” dominated the internet. Social Media Group’s analysis (as featured yesterday in the National Post) of online mentions of Tebow versus some of the most famous people in North America shows that Tebow dominates the discussion.

If Denver beats the Patriots this weekend, who knows what new heights Tebow may achieve!

Much is being made in the media about Tebow’s religious affiliation, and how he regularly turns to prayer, appealing to a Higher Power for support and thanks. What interested us was to see if people were more interested in Tebow’s exploits on the field, or his relationship with God. We looked at all of the Tebow mentions in association with words like God, prayer, religion, faith etc and were actually surprised to find that of all Tebow mentions, only 7% of them also included one of the religious words. It seems that people are more inclined to discuss Tebows athletic feats than his religious affiliations.

Thank goodness!