America's New Sports Hero

Mohammed Ali. Knute Rockne. Lou Gehrig. These men have left their mark on the sports world in very similar ways. Although these three men participated in very different sports, they each made memorable moments through their respective famous speeches. America might possibly have its new sports hero in the 21st century: Florida Gator Quarterback, Tim Tebow.

Standing at 6 foot 3 inches and 240 pounds, Tebow is built unlike any other quarterback in college football. Tebow raised eyebrows in Gator Nation in the 2006 season when he backed up starting quarterback Chris Leak. However, Tebow wasn't necessarily throwing many passes. Instead, the coaching staff utilized his size and fearlessness to run with the ball. Many of these plays consisted of Tebow pounding his way through the goaline resulting--many times--in a touchdown. It was this style that gave Tebow the chance to help win a 2007 BCS National Championship over Ohio State. In the following season, The Gators would not be selected to the BCS game. Nevertheless, the team would find some solace as their starting quarterback, Tim Tebow was named Heisman winner.

As a USC Trojan, nothing bothers me more than to not see my Trojans in the BCS Championship game year after year since the loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl in 2006. Apparently the BCS has some "logical" method in selecting its championship teams. In addition, I will quite possibly never fully understand this method because my Trojans not only usually have as many wins and losses as the selected BCS Championship teams, but they also are nearly unstoppable in the Bowl season. Enough of this. Back to Tim Tebow.

There is no denying the fact that Tim Tebow is a true competitor and knows how to win. In this past college football season, the Florida Gators suffered an excruciating loss to Ole Miss at home. However, in a press conference following the loss, Tebow gave a brief but inspirational speech regarding the rest of the season. He said, "I'm extremely sorry...I promise you one thing...you will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season." These words were simple, concise, but were filled with determination of a work-horse.

The rest is history. The Gators won out beating the country's top ranked Alabama team in the SEC championship game. Florida then was selected as the BCS number one team against number two, Oklahoma. Not even Oklahoma's stunning offense could overwhelm Florida. In addition, it wasn't too surprising that Florida's quarterback, Tebow, threw two touchdowns for over 200 yards and rushed for over 100 yards in the victory.

Today, Florida head coach Urban Meyer has decided to glorify Tebow's speech with a placard of the entire oration in metal. It will hang there on the wall and shine in its immortality. Hopefully, with one more season at Florida in his pocket, Tebow can shine as well. His legacy continues.