I think the lesson we learned this year was simple: Extremes are bad. All season long dudes told other dudes that Tim Tebow doesn’t belong in the NFL because he “can’t throw.” Then other dudes would fire back by saying “he’s an unbelievable quarterback because he just finds ways to win.”
Both are wrong.
Tim Tebow is an NFL quarterback who throws the ball less well than some other quarterbacks, and scrambles moderately well against marginal defenses. He also has a competitive gene that allows him to perform well in late game situations. Sometimes he wins, and sometimes he doesn’t.
On the other hand, Tebow relies a ton on his defense, and struggles against elite teams. He fumbles more than a quarterback should, and on occasion has a hard time hitting open receivers.
It’s perplexing why Tebow is such a polarizing individual. In the end he is a decent quarterback with some tools for success and some restricting flaws. He helps his team beat other teams that he’s supposed to beat, and fails against teams he probably has no business beating.
In a word, he’s pretty normal.
Let these NFL playoffs be a cautionary tale about jumping on super-moderate bandwagons. Get hot and cold on guys like Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees, or even Tom Brady. Those are the guys that merit arguing about. Leave the .500 guys to wallow in mediocrity. Otherwise you find yourself feeling really empty after a gut-shot-blow-out-playoff loss—you’re caught wondering why the heck you got behind a guy who kind of sucks against tenured, upper-echelon teams.
And if you say you like Tebow because he’s a Christian, fine, then by that same standard it means you’re also a huge fan of David Eckstein, Lance Berkman, Kurt Warner, Vince Carter, Dave Dravecky, Mark Price, and Randall Cunningham—all outspoken evangelical athletes.
My suggestion, though, is to avoid extremes. Try something simple and truthful, like, “Tim Tebow is a young quarterback who is not ready to compete with elite teams, but he’s athletic and has some potential. I’m not sure what his ceiling is, though. Maybe a poor man’s Doug Flutie? And he’s a really nice guy—handles the media with a ton of class.”
That’ll help you be less of an obnoxious person.
Trap the Corners 
Vince Carter is an outspoken evangelical? I didn’t know that.
If you google it you’ll find a ton of message boards/Q and A “wiki-ask” type forums where he makes numerous lists. I know the McGrady/Carter family conglomerate has major evangelical roots.
Aw, what’s the fun of being all stoic about it? The whole Tebow thing was getting caught up in the persona of Tebow (not just his Christianity, but the whole package) and the crazy Broncos run. Live a little, Nate.
Seriously. No rational sports fan thinks Tebow is a great NFL quarterback.The phenomenon of this past season was the confluence of the Broncos’ dramatic comebacks led (in spirit if not entirely in practice) by their amped-up second string quarterback who also happened to be outspoken about his faith, leading many to conjecture (mostly in jest) about the possibility of God intervening on his behalf. It was just a fun, weird phase that has now passed. I actually think the whole polarization thing was a bit fake and fleeting because of the circumstances. I predict that next year everyone will have a more moderate view of him
Maybe my real point is that only rational sports fans are women, since you only refer to dudes in the article.
I tend to disagree with the notion that polarization was “fake and fleeting,” only because I know so many people who are totally outspoken about their love and undying allegiance to Tebow. Part of the point here is that these “dramatic comebacks” came against .500 teams (at best, sometimes much worse), and should never have been dramatic comeback situations in the first place. I appreciate Tebows convictions about his faith, and criticize the media for being childish about it. I find it disturbing how many fans and readers took a hard line on Tebow. That’s the point. Why are we taking hard lines on a mediocre second string guy? It’s a waste of time.
The “crazy Broncos run” was this — they beat Oakland, KC, San Diego, Chicago, and Minnesota in five straight games. The best of those teams finished 8-8, and the worst of those teams finished 3-13. They only won ONE of those games by more than a touchdown, and almost lost to the 3-13 Vikings (giving up like 30 something points). This was not amazing. It was not astonishing. It was not anything to get caught up (unless you are the type of person who gets “caught up” in media hype. What would have been a crazy run? Beating a single team that was over .500, or winning a big playoff game, or winning a game you’re not supposed to win.