A super man : Florida’s Tebow uses football fame for good of others
Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008
HOOVER, Ala. — Speaking in front of more than 700 reporters here Wednesday at the Wynfrey Hotel, no one could mistake Florida head coach Urban Meyer as a rabid fan looking for a player’s autograph at SEC Media Days.
But flash back to December, and Meyer was viewed as just that thanks to the super stardom achieved by his Heisman winning quarterback, Tim Tebow. Mistaken for a fan during Tebow’s sophomore-year run to the Heisman Trophy, security tried to push Meyer out of Tebow’s path at Times Square in New York City.
“ They thought I was like hanging around Tim trying to get an autograph or something, ” Meyer said.
“ I hate to say this, ” Meyer continued, switching to a playful tone. “ I was. I wanted to get a Christmas present for my son. ”
And the legend that is Tebow continues to grow. From negative campaigns to positive outpouring from fans, Tebow gets it from all sides.
Once, a photo of the Gator quarterback was digitally altered to replace a pair of casual shorts with a fashion faux pas — jean shorts. The point of the alteration was to poke fun at the left-handed, fast-footed Gators’ fashion sense and his seemingly superhero status among the media masses.
But on the other side of the Tebow tale, there is the human who takes advantage of his fame and circumstance. From reportedly helping understaffed doctors with circumcisions overseas, to mission trips in the Philippines, Croatia and Thailand, an obsessive throng of fans, and more media attention than perhaps any other NCAA athlete in recent years, Tebow remains stoic and thankful for his fame.
“ It has its pros and cons like anything, ” said Tebow, who beat out Arkansas’ Darren McFadden for the Heisman last December. “ It definitely, sometimes, can wear on you. But at the same time you want to be able to see everybody, want to shake their hand, want to take a picture and help them out, and put a smile on their face because I enjoy doing that.
“ But sometimes you’re not allowed, or it can just be too much. You can’t spread yourself too thin. ”
Said Tebow earlier in the day, his life is, “ definitely not on cruise control, that’s for sure. ”
Fans follow him almost everywhere he goes and his workload is enormous. The junior-to-be took summer classes and had just two breaks, which he spent to go on his three mission trips.
His head coach even went on a five-day mission trip with his wife and three kids to the Dominican Republic earlier this month. Meyer credited Tebow for his own sudden push toward an act of goodwill.
“ Tim has done a lot of things that opened my eyes and that’s one of them, ” Meyer said. “... It’s something we’re going to, if possible, do every year. ”
Meyer’s admiration for Tebow is not just limited to work in the community. His 32 touchdown passes and 23 rushing scores last season broke records, and propelled him to become the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman.
All the Tebow love led Meyer to label his star as “ the greatest player of our era, ” to a crowd in Miami last week.
“ I’ve got to watch what I say, ” Meyer said Wednesday. “ That’s maybe how I feel. I’m not going to say that much anymore because I have too much respect for Tim and the job he does. ”
The work is hard, though, Tebow admitted. Finding a balance and not overloading is tough.
“ It’s definitely not that easy, ” Tebow said. “ The difference is [that ] not many people want to wake up at 5 [a. m. ], go through workouts, go speak to young kids, go back, eat lunch, go to class, go to tutoring, go speak at a prison at night and come back. I mean, more people would do those things; they just don’t want to sacrifice. ”
And Tebow sacrifices, thanks to his fame.
“ Because of that, I have this platform and I have millions of kids that look up to me, ” Tebow said. “ I can go in a hospital and share with a little boy or little girl and I can change their day, their demeanor and their life in some instances. I can go into a prison and instantly gain their respect because I play football.
“ Unfortunately, so many athletes don’t take advantage of it. All those athletes are role models. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of good ones. My dream and my goal is to be one of those good role models that a parent can say to their kid, ‘ Look at him. Do it the right way like him. ’ ”
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