Statistic-wise, Tim Tebow’s debut as a New England Patriots’ quarterback left a lot to be desired. In an exhibition victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, he completed only four of 12 passes for 55 yards, and some of the passes could be described as “very erratic” at best.
But it was what he said after the game in the locker room that garnered a lot more attention, especially on social media. When a cameraman yelled “Jesus Christ” following a mishap, Tebow, who overheard the comment, looked at the cameraman and said, “He loves you.”
Kent Babb, a reporter for The Washington Post, witnessed the conversation and tweeted it. By the end of the weekend, Babb’s comment had been re-tweeted more than 3,000 times and it had been favorited more than 1,000 times.
Babb even followed up the tweet with this one: “I promise that Tebow tweet was 100 percent true.”
Tebow, whose quarterback skills—and his unashamed promotion of the gospel and Jesus—have been much maligned by the media, has had a rough go of it in the NFL for the past year and a half. A tough season as the New York Jets quarterback led to his release and his subsequent signing by the Patriots, an inter-division rival of the Jets.
Many critics have pondered whether the former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida will be able to make it as an NFL quarterback. A couple of other tweets by Babb Friday night during the game illustrates that point:
- “I’m not even kidding when I tell you that, every time Tim Tebow throws a pass, someone in this press box laughs. And sometimes it’s not me.”
- “Inspirational drive there conducted by Tim Tebow. Two pretty terrible passes and a merciful sack. I’m inspired, anyway.”
Whether or not Tebow will make it in New England is anyone’s guess. But, hopefully, he has impacted at least one person—the cameraman—by his presence in Foxboro, Mass.
