If you didn’t see it yourself, let me sum up in one word the performance of the Denver Broncos against the New England Patriots Saturday night: ugly. Tim Tebow and the Broncos were dominated pretty much from kickoff by a ruthless New England defense and superb passing game from quarterback Tom Brady.
Despite his performance on the field last night, which will certainly be criticized, I never knew how much of a winner Tim Tebow is off the field until I read an article by Rick Reilly over at ESPN.com. Whether or not you agree with Tebow’s very public expression of his Christian faith, you have to at least admit that he seems to be a pretty admirable guy – and the world would be a nicer place to live if more public figures were so selfless. From Rick Reilly, writing over at ESPN.com:
I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.
No, I’ve come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.
Who among us is this selfless?
Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster’s), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.
Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.
When the press reports about the off-the-field activities of professional sports figures, it always seems to be about things like steroid abuse (Barry Bonds), criminal activity (Michael Vick), or serious personal moral failings (Tiger Woods). It’s refreshing to read about good deeds performed by a professional athlete.
And lest you think Tebow’s selflessness is just for show, Reilly offers his thoughts on that as well:
There’s not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow, and I’ve looked everywhere for it.
Take 9-year-old Zac Taylor, a child who lives in constant pain. Immediately after Tebow shocked the Chicago Bears with a 13-10 comeback win, Tebow spent an hour with Zac and his family. At one point, Zac, who has 10 doctors, asked Tebow whether he has a secret prayer for hospital visits. Tebow whispered it in his ear. And because Tebow still needed to be checked out by the Broncos’ team doctor, he took Zac in with him, but only after they had whispered it together.
And it’s not always kids. Tom Driscoll, a 55-year-old who is dying of brain cancer at a hospice in Denver, was Tebow’s guest for the Cincinnati game. “The doctors took some of my brain,” Driscoll says, “so my short-term memory is kind of shot. But that day I’ll never forget. Tim is such a good man.”
Reilly continues:
So that’s it. I’ve given up giving up on him. I’m a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.
Remember the QB who lost his leg, Jacob Rainey? He got his prosthetic leg a few weeks ago, and he wants to play high school football next season. Yes, tackle football. He’d be the first to do that on an above-the-knee amputation.
Hmmm. Wonder where he got that crazy idea?
“Tim told me to keep fighting, no matter what,” Rainey says. “I am.”
Neat stuff. It’s great to see a professional athlete going out of his way to so humbly use his position to do good for others. The world would certainly be a better place if we saw more public figures (politicians, sports figures, entertainers, etc.) humbly and selflessly doing the same.
If you’d like to read the full story at ESPN, you can check it out here.
