Tim Tebow’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

You would cry too if it happened to you.

Despite Gator great Tim Tebow’s best effort to convince the public he’s been an underdog his entire life, the truth is that he’s had a pretty good 25 years on this planet. Everything he alleged they said he couldn’t do in that FRS energy drink commercial back in 2011 was a lie.

No one ever said he couldn’t get a D-1 scholarship.

No one ever said he couldn’t make it.

No one ever said he wasn’t good enough.

No one ever said he wasn’t skilled enough.

No one ever said he couldn’t win a Heisman.

No one ever said he couldn’t win a National Championship.

Okay, so maybe they said he wouldn’t be a first round draft pick.

But no one ever said he couldn’t play in the league.

From his own accounts, Tebow has a very supportive family and a strong backing from his church. It’s hard to imagine there were a lot of people in his life growing up that were insistent on tearing him down. And he was homeschooled, so he wasn’t being victimized by any schoolyard bullies.

Tebow had the opportunity to play for the football team at the public high school in his district though, and he led them to a State Championship in 2005. He was recruited by a number of D-1 powerhouses, including the University of Alabama, before committing to the University of Florida.

No one said he *couldn’t* win a Heisman.

Tebow won a Heisman and two BCS Championships for the Gators and has since had a statue erected on campus in his honor. So it’s safe to say that if he was ever playing with a chip on his shoulder, it was an imaginary chip.

At least for awhile.

But that commercial has become sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy in the years since it trailed off as Tebow flipped over a gigantic tire. Some people certainly said he wouldn’t be a first round draft pick, and it’s become clear that he shouldn’t have been.

Tebow had a magical season with the Broncos in 2011, some might say miraculous, taking over at quarterback after a couple of games in what seemed to be a hopeless season in Denver. He led them all the way to an unlikely playoff victory against the Steelers.

And that was it. Since early 2012 Tim Tebow has become like Peter Gibbons from Office Space. Every day, it seems, has been worse than the day before—professionally speaking. Today is probably the worst day of his professional life. Slightly worse than the day before, but slightly better than tomorrow.

Those were the days…

His success aside, the Broncos were desperate were to get rid of him following the season, and leading the charge was John Elway, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.The only takers were the Jets, the NFL’s biggest circus and a certified sinking ship at the time—their interest in Tebow has yet to be explained to this day.

The highlight of Tebow’s season with the Jets in 2012 was probably that overenthusiastic press conference in which (their new backup QB) spent 30 minutes telling the world how excited he was to be Jet. So excited was he that he used the word 44 times during the presser, which was marred by the noticeable absence coach Rex Ryan.

Well, that being said, he’s not excited anymore. Tebow’s season, like that of the entire team, was an abject disaster. By the end of the he was barely able to contain his growing contempt for the organization. Although he still did a better job at putting a on happy face than the rest of over-talkative, under-producing teammates.

By early 2013 the look of content serenity that had been plastered across Tebow’s face for…well…probably since birth…had finally began to change slightly. In the final days of his tenure with the Jets, Tebow didn’t even look like the same person who was so once so excited just to be in New York, contributing in any way he could.

Then he was cut.

Then he was scheduled to speak at a Texas church whose pastor is reportedly an anti-Semitic gay basher.

Then he cancelled under mounting public pressure.

Then his fans started a “We The People” petition aimed at getting President Obama to persuade the Jaguars to sign Tebow as a free agent.

Then he petition was universally mocked.

Then the White House removed the petition, reportedly for violating the terms of service policy.

So far that’s been Tim Tebow’s 2013 in a nutshell.

He’s unemployed and has made it clear that he is unwilling to consider a position shift in the NFL. Some have suggested the AFL or CFL as potential landings spot for Tebow, but even those prospects don’t seem incredibly bright at the moment.

Retired Eagles quarterback, and current ESPN analyst, Ron Jaworski, who is co-owner of the AFL’s Philadelphia Soul, recently said he offered Tebow a position on the team—but not as the starting QB. He hasn’t heard back from Tebow’s camp and said he isn’t going to “push it.”

If he decides to head north for the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes hold his exclusive negotiating rights. Unfortunately for Tebow they’ve made it clear that he would be competing for the position of backup QB—a glamorous (sarcasm) position he’s all too familiar with at this point.

And as for the CFL’s most famous player Warren Moon—who once played five seasons with the league before moving on to the NFL—he’s not exactly Tebow’s biggest supporter. Which is really putting a positive spin on things.

During a recent interview with Houston’s CBS affiliate, Moon stated plainly that Tebow simply isn’t good enough to play the position in the CFL. And, presumably, not anywhere else either.

That’s not to say that Moon’s personal opinion has anything to do with Tebow’s future—it doesn’t. It’s just another nail in the cross. Or is it coffin? Either way…it’s just more fuel on a fire that is already burning out of control.

Wow. What a difference a year makes. From the orchestrator of the Miracle at Mile High in 2012 to a virtually unemployable pariah in 2013. You know…that story arch sounds vaguely familiar…but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

It can’t get worse…can it?

Let’s just hope for Tebow’s sake it doesn’t get any worse. If this rapid downhill trajectory continues he’s going to be nailed…by a bus while crossing the street.

**Follow me on Twitter to continue irrational screaming matches about a player who most people haven’t really cared about since college: Follow @blamberr