By Julie Buehler
I can’t figure it out, not sure you can either, but our nation and sports culture has a strange fascination with Tim Tebow.
There are obscure stats you can point to that might justify it. There are moments you can recall that may describe it. There are fans who adore him and fans who can’t stand him and when his name is in a headline, it’s the most-read story of the week.
None of it really makes much sense.
If you want to be kind, he’s a mediocre quarterback at the professional level. If you want to be jerk, he’d get the nod over pond scum, but only because he has opposable thumbs.
Few names create as massive a swing of an emotional pendulum with equal number of voices on either side.
I usually feel badly for the guy because he’s what a coach calls “a football player.” Nothing much matters to Tebow. Just the name on the front of the jersey and winning. He’s a great teammate, according to former college and professional teammates and he loves the game, doesn’t take anything for granted and shows up to do the best work he’s capable of.
Problem is, he’s not capable of much ON the football field. His accuracy is inaccurate. His consistency is inconsistent and his pension for dramatic plays makes games that shouldn’t be close, close to unwatchable.
But off the field, he can get fans in a tizzy, the media in a frenzy and the conversation shifted from X’s and O’s to anything else.
He was traded to the Jets in 2012, signed by the Patriots in June of 2013 and cut by the Patriots in August. Before the season started.
He was behind a microphone and in front of a camera in 2014.
There’s not much hope for him as a starter, but here’s the thing, there’s also solid rational behind the Eagles signing him.
Remember, this is NOT about him being a starter. I mean, he’ll ask for the opportunity and his chorus of supporters will echo the sincerity, but he won’t be a starter.
This is about a coach, Chip Kelly, who’s always trying to be ahead of the latest football trends will effort unusual ways to getting a leg up on the competition.
According to Jason LaCanfora, with CBS Sports, one football executive pointed out the potential rule change that could come in May and may eradicate the extra point attempt and offer teams the chance to go for 2 points or just accept the 7-point touchdown.
Kelly, a man who likes to accumulate points in a football game with ruthless efficiency is seen as someone likely to choose the 2-point conversation risk-to-reward proposition and aggressive pursue those opportunities.
Enters Tim Tebow: Who has the body to be a battering ram and the arm to float a pass to a lanky receiver in the end zone. And a defense would not be able to guess which is coming.
So while the football world and general public are elated or bemoaning the reunion with TebowTime, reality is, this might make sense for the Eagles.
Which is more than I can say for the nation’s obsession with ‘ole Timmy.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 1-4 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She can also be seen every morning between 6-7am on KMIR sharing the coolest stories in sports. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 1-4 pst at www.team1010.com or watch “Buehler’s Day Off” on Ustream and KMIR.com for her sports reports.
