New member here. Will go ahead and get it out of the way, yes, I'm a Tebow fan.
Will try to make this short. Grew up on SEC football and have been an avid fan of it for 35+ years. Three favorite teams are Georgia (where I grew up), Auburn (where my brother went to college and was only 45 mins away) and Kentucky (which his where most my family is from, and where I live now).
While I'm a fan of SEC football, NFL football didn't appeal to me the same way. I rooted for the Falcons when I lived down in Georgia, but after moving to Ky, with no "local" team, I never was fanatical about it. Definitely didn't have a single favorite team that I was enamored with.
Now, this doesn't mean that I didn't/don't spend every Sunday planted in front of the TV watching games, Monday and Thursday nights as well. It might not be SEC football, but it still beats the heck out of anything else that's on
.
Over the years of watching, there have been some NFL teams that I like, some that I tolerate, and some that I just absolutely despise. I mean, when Cleveland plays, I don't care who the other team is, they just became my favorite, unless it's the Giants or the Raiders, cause yeah, I hate them both as well. Don't know why exactly, it just is what it is.
I have pulled for the Pats a number of times over the years. Back when I was younger, it was because of the wicked cool Pat's logo:
and the colors. Who doesn't like Red, White and Blue ?
Wasn't into them much during the Bledsoe years, probably because I just didn't like Bledsoe. Can't remember why that was, but again, it is what it is.
The past decade or so ? Mainly pulled for the Pats in the SB, especially when they were playing the Giants. Did I mention that I REALLY HATE the Giants ? Again, not sure why, but it is what it is.
Brady ? He's an interesting case as he has a number of things working against him. Biggest problem for me is that he played at Michigan, and good lord, let me tell you, I HATE THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. Seriously. My favorite color is blue and my favorite vegetable is corn (maize), but I still HATE THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
That said, the dude can flat out play, and that earned my respect long, long ago.
(A quick aside, it was a similar situation with Tebow (and Urban Meyers too). Both were at Florida of course, and that means I hated them both as I was from Bulldog country. So, right from the get go, I had no love for either Tebow or Meyer. For Tebow specifically, after he committed to UF a and at the beginning his freshman year, I kept wondering what all the damned hype was about. Then, the next 3 years of Tebow happened. Somewhere along the line, while he and Urban ran roughshod over the SEC, I began to develop a healthy respect for them both. Right after "The Promise", I was like "WTF" and got a good laugh out of it. Later, I was like "Damn". Ok, enough of that, back to the regularly scheduled programming. )
Then we get to The Dark Lord, the Evil Genius himself, Bill Belichick. I've forgiven him for being associated with Cleveland. I mean, how can you not like a guy that wears a freaking hoody on the sidelines and looks like Emperor Palpatine ? The fact that he's inarguably the smartest and most creative coach in the NFL certainly doesn't hurt. What I really like about him is that while most other coaches seem to have looked down on the college game over the years, Belichick has been fishing those waters for innovations for years. I like a guy who says "Fark conventional wisdom, I'm going to do what I think works."
Anyways, as I said, I'm here because of the Tebow signing. Hopefully he'll make the roster and I'll be pulling for the Pats this season regardless of whether he plays or spends the season carrying a clip board and bringing Brady some Gatorade. Obviously, I'd love it if Bill and company figure out a way to use him in games this season. But, it won't bother me a bit if he spends the entire year or two or three learning and developing as a QB.