Tebow Quote of they Day: Urban Meyer on Effort vs. Vols

"He played as hard as he's ever played."

-- Urban Meyer, on Tim Tebow's effort against Tennessee.

That 3rd-and-3 play from the UF 38 when the Gators were only up 16-6 and Tebow turned a broken play into what has instantly become "The Tiptoe" down the sideline for a 1st down WAS the biggest play of the day for Florida.

(It even made ESPN's highlight package -- what didn't make the package was Tebow's even-more-impressive scramble from the Vols 20, where he ended up fumbling near the goal-line.)

Tebow Game Day Eye-Black: Romans 8:28

OK, so Tim Tebow didn't take me up on my suggestion to go Old Testament on Lane Kiffin and Tennessee with Ezekiel 25:17, but that's probably for the best, given the grinder of a win.

Instead, Tebow used Romans 8:28, which reads (King James version):

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

"Called according to his purpose" seems to gibe with something Tebow talks about a lot: That everyone -- including himself -- has a divinely ordained path that they are charged to maximize.

In a football sense, it's not a bad proxy for "Do your job." I imagine that Tebow was disappointed by his two turnovers. I was sitting 30 feet away, directly in front of me, when he made that run and fumbled near the goal-line. Tebow was extremely unhappy with himself after that play.

And, yes, as usual, the Bible passage Tebow used on his eye-black showed up near the top of trending Google searches. (It finally settled at No. 5 for the entire day. Not bad, given that it was a 3:30 kickoff.)

Tebow Quote of the Day: Tebow on Tennessee

"It means a lot. It's been a big game for me ever since I was five or six years old, watching Peyton Manning and Danny Wuerffel and how big a game it was and how much it set up the rest of the season with momentum in the SEC East and everything. It's such a great game.... It's a game I look forward to a lot."

-- Tim Tebow, on the Tennessee game.

My wife -- the *real* Gators fan in the family -- has been advancing an excellent theory since Tebow's debut in 2006 that one of the things that makes Tebow so special is that he, himself, is a lifelong, die-hard Gators fan. That's why you see him doing the Gator Chomp after TDs (or in Nic Harris's face). Or doing a lap around the stadium after games. He appreciates-- as a fan -- the history, the rivalries, the tradition. Of course he wants to win -- regardless of who he is playing for. But he is particularly emotionally invested in Florida -- just like the fans.

(Photo: Tebow vs. Tennessee in 2007, Tebow's SEC debut as Florida's starting QB -- not to mention nationally televised. If you squint, you can see me in the background. Photo by the Gainesville Sun.)

Gameday: Tebow, Gators Host Tennessee

Light (if any) posting today. I am in Gainesville for the Florida-Tennessee game, which is as good of an excuse as there is for not writing. I will try to update the @timteblog Twitter feed but for more, be sure to check out my @danshanoff Twitter feed.

Should be a wild scene. Have you ever heard of a game with a 28-point point spread having this much excitement behind it? I will be curious to see how many Tebow jerseys will be in the stadium, rather than just plain old blue Florida shirts. (I will be wearing a hybrid: The Tebow jersey T-shirt. Sorry: "Florida No. 15" jersey T-shirt.)

If the 2007 game is any indication, it should be a huge game for Tebow and for the team.

Tebow Reading For a Saturday Morning

What I missed yesterday while I was on the road to Gainesville...

*Video: Tim Tebow is a "Hero" (Burly Sports/Heavy.com)

*TampaBay.com joins the Orlando Sentinel with a dedicated Tebow page. (TBO.com)

*Tebow or Not, Jags Need a QB (Florida T-U)

*Garrard on Tebow: Hmm... (St. Augustine Record)

*An entirely inappropriate Tebow "Cornhole" backdrop (Deadspin)

*Two days late: The end of Tim Treebow. (Alligator)

*Unrelated to Tebow, but when you are talking about the most cult-of-personality QBs of the last 20 years in the SEC, Tim Tebow is the clear No. 1 -- but Steve Taneyhill should make the Top 10.

(When I was in college, I spent a semester working at the Sun News in Myrtle Beach, and -- if only to get into the spirit of my first real exposure to college football in the South, I owned a Steve Taneyhill replica jersey. By the end of the school year, I had misplaced it. Ah well.)

Tebow Halftime Speech vs. Oklahoma

Been delinquent about posting this since it first emerged a couple weeks ago, but what better way to get you excited for Tennessee tomorrow? I also added it to the sidebar on the right, featuring essential Tebow video moments:

Tebow Quote of the Day: David Garrard

"He's a great player, great person. I think he has potential to play quarterback in the NFL. You never know how long it will take for him to develop into an NFL quarterback. But I definitely think he's got the potential. He would definitely be great for the organization. I know what Wayne's thinking and why he would think Tebow would be great here. He's loved here. This is where he's from. He plays for the local college here that everybody loves."

-- David Garrard, on the notion of the Jaguars drafting Tim Tebow.

Destination: Gainesville

Light posting today as I travel down to Gainesville for the Florida-Tennessee game and my first trip to The Swamp this season. (It might be my only trip this season, but that's another story.)

I was there for the 2007 Gators-Vols game -- as much as Troy was a statistical breakout, Tebow's performance against Tennessee that year on national TV (14/19 for 299 yards and 2 TDs passing, plus 61 yards rushing on a team-high 18 carries, with 2 more TDs rushing) accelerated him to the front of the Heisman pack. Should be a fun game with an amazing atmosphere this year.

Give me a holler if you're going to be at the game and/or tailgating -- would love to drop by and meet up with folks.

NFL: Tebow's Left-Handed Handicap?

Is it possible that Tim Tebow's biggest challenge in his transition to the NFL won't be his lack of experience taking snaps under center or his throwing motion or his delivery speed... it will be the fact that he is left-handed? (Thanks to the WSJ. This is an interesting counter to the Tebow-Steve Young comp -- Young is a rarity in his left-handed success, at least by NFL standards.)

Draft Tebow, Cont'd: Jaguars vs. Patriots

Just to offer one last perspective on this "Jaguars-draft-Tebow" meme that popped up in the last 18 hours when Wayne Weaver talked up how compelling Tebow is as a draft prospect.

Let's compare the Jaguars' interest in Tim Tebow with the other team you regularly hear thrown around (at least by me) as interested in Tebow: The Patriots.

The Jaguars apparently want to draft Tebow as a strategic marketing asset -- a schtick to sell tickets and merchandise. There is no evidence that Jack Del Rio has the wherewithal to optimally use Tebow on the field.

The Patriots presumably want to draft Tebow as a strategic football asset -- Bill Belichick wants nothing more than to test and expand the potential for the single-wing through Tebow, who -- as Lane Kiffin put it this week -- grades out like a love-child (my phrase) of Mike Vick and Mike Alstott.

People might scoff at the idea of Belichick removing the best QB in the league for ANY snaps -- but Belichick is about opportunism and winning. If putting Tebow at the goal-line or on a 4th-and-short makes strategic sense, he will do it.

(For all the yammering from draftniks about how college spread QBs can't transition to the NFL, Bill Belichick runs the spread as his base offense -- and certainly the offense he goes to when it matters most in a game.)

There is a reason that Urban Meyer constantly uses the Patriots as his model for the team he would like to see draft Tebow -- and his (and my) argument that Tebow needs to be in the right system to succeed.

Incidentally, Meyer has nothing to say about Tebow being in the right marketing campaign. If Jack Del Rio -- or OC Dirk Koettner, who has created innovative offenses in his time -- adapt for Tebow, that's great.

I'm all for the reality that the NFL is a business -- for the struggling Jags, that is even more of an imperative.

But I think Belichick -- and others -- would argue that if you play winning football -- championship football -- the fans will come, with the marketing dollars quickly following.

Drafting Tebow to sell a bunch of season tickets -- like the Vikings saw with Favre -- or to sell a bunch of jerseys -- again, like the Vikings saw with Favre -- is both short-term and short-lived. You almost have to admire the cynicism behind the sentiment.

I loathe the Patriots (and I am on the record as having adopted the Jaguars as "my" team in the last few seasons and I am a nominal fan at best... call me a Jags sympathizer), but I really like Bill Belichick -- and what I believe will be Belichick's obsession with turning Tebow into a productive (if not revolutionary) new talent in the NFL.

For the sake of Tebow's pro prospects (whether as a full-time or innovative "situational" QB), I hope he ends up with the Patriots.

How Tim Tebow Handles The Facebook Era

We live in a golden era for access to athletes -- for all the sky-is-falling lamentations about the state of newspaper sports journalism, the connection between fans and athletes has never been clearer:

Web sites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, obsessive 24/7 coverage of every little detail: Archaic newspaper vets may scoff, but this is an extraordinarily positive development in sports.

That's not to say it is without its pitfalls: There are plenty of folks out there who just want to try to cash in for a quick buck (or quick fame) using these tools and platforms.

There is a great article in the NY Times today by Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans, taking a look at how this phenomenon has hit the biggest rock stars of college football, including Tim Tebow.

The fact is: For all Tebow's ease in the face of traditional media pressure -- and for all his generosity with his time for fans out of the spotlight -- he still has to be careful.

The lead of the story is the best:

While shopping recently at Radio Shack, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was approached by a woman with a seemingly innocuous request to take a picture with him. But an instant before her mother snapped the photo with a cellphone camera, the woman tried to take off her shirt

“It’s happened four or five times,” Tebow said with a sigh. “Most of the time I just dive out of the picture. Some people can just be crazy.”

It's just one more thing to handle. Frankly, athletes today are so much better at this than athletes of even a half-decade or decade ago, let alone further back. Can you imagine the exploits that would have been revealed if we had today's communication tools in the 60s or 70s?

Draft: Tebow to Jaguars? Weaver Open To It

"Star power is incredible, and Tebow is an iconic figure. That's very compelling."

That's not me talking. That's Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, talking to the AP this week about the lure of drafting local hero Tim Tebow -- regardless of team need or Tebow's NFL viability.

Money quote from Weaver: "Clearly there's going to be a groundswell for Tebow, and we'll have to make that evaluation if we have a draft pick that's going to be anywhere near him."

The question is: Will Tebow be available? Let's say the Jaguars are right in the middle of the draft pack -- say, 15th. I don't think Tebow will be available. All it takes is one other team (and I'm not even talking about the Patriots -- think Dan Snyder and the Redskins) to want him.

Unless the Jaguars' season collapses and they end up with a Top 10 pick (and even that's no guarantee, given how badly the Redskins will probably do), I think the Jaguars will have to move up.

Weaver is dead-on with one point: There will be a Tebow groundswell -- and not just by Jaguars fans. As soon as everyone realizes that Bill Belichick would REALLY like to have Tebow (although he might not be willing to trade up to get him), his stock will spike.

This much is totally clear: Someone will overreach for him; he won't last past the Top 10. Maybe it is the starry-eyed Dan Snyder. Maybe it is the Tebow-loving Bill Belichick.

And maybe it is the star-starving Wayne Weaver.

UPDATE: ProFootballTalk on the Tebow/Weaver/Jags story.

Tebow Quote of the Day: Lane Kiffin

To summarize: Tim Tebow is the love-child of Mike Vick and Mike Alstott. Here was Lane Kiffin on who Tim Tebow reminds him of:

"Probably the only guy similar at all would be Michael Vick. The thing about Tebow is he’s such a dynamic competitor. He never skips out on yards, he's always going to put his shoulders down. It’s like Mike Alstott. It’s like dealing with a fullback with the ball in his hands."

Kiffin continues to pile the praise on Tim Tebow and the Gators, all in a devious plan to manage expectations so low that losing 55-0 will seem like a moral victory. (I do, however, like the notion that Tim Tebow is the love-child of Mike Vick and Mike Alstott.)

How Will Monte Kiffin Defend Tim Tebow?

For a terrific analysis of how Monte Kiffin might -- or, alternatively, might not be able to -- defend Tim Tebow and Florida's offense, read the insanely smart (no pun intended) Chris from Smart Football on the topic.

There's a lot of stuff about the "Tampa Two" and "Bob Sanders" and "inside-out versus outside-in" -- I had to read it twice to really understand it (but it was worth it to read it the second time!)

The bottom line: If you would like to date Monte Kiffin and how long he's been in the game, he makes a comparison between Tim Tebow and Johnny Majors.

Tebow and Co. vs Tennessee: Expectations

Over at DanShanoff.com, I write a lot about expectations management, which feels like half the ball game -- particularly in a sport like college football, where perception is such a big deal.

What are the expectations for Tim Tebow and Florida this Saturday?

That Tebow will run/pass for 5 TDs? That he will do the Gator Chomp in Lane Kiffin's face? Perhaps that he will go Old Testament on the Vols?

That the defense will put up a shutout? That the Gators will win by 50? That Urban Meyer will save time-outs for late in the game, to prolong the humiliation, like he did vs. Georgia in '08?

Here is an incredibly astute observation by Doug Gillett at Yahoo's Dr. Saturday, writing about the way Lane Kiffin has arguably already won the expectations game:

[It] would be just as hard to set the bar any lower as far as expectations for the Florida game are concerned, and that's the silver lining here from Kiffin's perspective: Nobody expects Tennessee to win this game in the first place. I'd be willing to bet that most fans don't even expect them to stay within five touchdowns of the Gators. The Kiffin-Meyer slapfight has become so hyperinflated that if the Vols even manage to hold the Gators below 60, it can be spun as a moral victory.

What is Florida's expectations management scenario here? If they don't win by 50 -- forget the "official" 28-point spread -- it will be a disappointment. I predict Florida will win handily -- 30-plus points.

And Urban won't pull out any late time-outs... if only to confound the expectations. That may be the only thing left for Florida to do. There is no performance-based outcome that can match (let alone exceed) the insane expectations of ass-kickery.

Here is my prediction of Meyer's psychological end-game:

Rubbing Kiffin's face in it through something as ostentatious as a time-out is not nearly as bad as pretending that Tennessee is no more worth the trouble than Charleston Southern or Troy.

The strategy won't be demolition -- it will be diminishment.

But wait! Even as some of us -- cough! -- talk about "Old Testament"-style retribution, Lane Kiffin is flipping the script. You could almost say he is trying a Jedi mind trick.

By playing up the Gators' overwhelming superiority and even the inevitability of Florida's victory, he reinforces his ironically "no-lose" proposition:

If Urban acts in a petty or vindictive way, he and the team lose their championship aura and turns into a mere bully. Kiffin emerges -- dare to say it -- sympathetic.

(That's why, despite my column hoping it happens, I don't see Tebow going with some sort of vengeance-fueled Old Testament motif on his eye-black, nor any player doing too much showboating.)

If Kiffin keeps the game even remotely close -- I peg that at 45-0 or better (I don't expect Tennessee to score, so the question is limiting UF to 6 or fewer TDs) -- he has exceeded expectations. Even though Kiffin has lost big on the scoreboard, he...wins.

Why? Because those expectations couldn't be lower. Let me repeat: They couldn't be lower.

It's not even about winning or losing -- it's HOW Tennessee will lose. And Florida has to walk that fine line: Start with a shutout, then score a ton, but not enough to be cruel. (45-55 pts)

But, remarkably, short of Florida threading this needle, Kiffin will walk away beaten in the game -- but not conquered. Not even close.

And, let's get back to the larger point:

The team with the biggest expectations-management issue is... Florida.

Anything less than a national title, complete with an unbeaten season, will be viewed as a failure.

Tennessee is more of a distraction than anything else. They are win No. 3 out of what needs to be 14 wins.

That is why I suggested that Meyer -- despite his interest in rivalry games (and his very salient point that rivalry games usually matter in the SEC standings and also have huge recruiting impact) -- treat Tennessee like nothing more than Charleston Southern or Troy.

One more win. Because there are a lot more to go.

Tebow Extends HeismanPundit Poll Lead

As I chuckle over people mocking Lane Kiffin for calling this Florida team potentially the best team ever -- I may mock Kiffin, but I agree with him on this team's potential -- Tim Tebow has extended his lead in the latest HeismanPundit straw poll, collecting 9 out of 13 first-place votes. Colt McCoy is in 2nd; Jahvid Best is in 3rd. Nice to see Houston's Case Keenum get into the Top 5 after leading UH to a win over Oklahoma State.

With this Saturday's expected dominance from Tebow, the lead should only extend next week.

For the record, Kiffin described Florida like this: "...the best team in the country -- possibly the best team ever to play."

It seems ludicrous to talk about "best ever" now -- just ask USC fans in 2005 what they were saying about their team in mid-September of that season... -- but, at the very least, all the pieces are there (offense, defense, special teams, coaching, star wattage) to be in the argument, should they run the table. "Should they" remains a big "if."

Tebow Coverage On Yahoo's Dr. Saturday:On Tebow "Going Old Testament" on Vols,Ezekiel 25:17 Eye-Black Campaign Continues

Welcome, Yahoo readers and fellow fans of Dr. Saturday! If this is your first time here, be sure to check out the extensive archives on the right. There have been multiple posts per day -- about every topic you could possibly imagine -- going back two months. Lots to see.

I have officially taken the (respectful) request for Tim Tebow's eye-black this weekend -- as long as Tebow is taking 'em! -- to be Ezekiel 25:17 to the mainstream.

Check out my post from this afternoon at Yahoo's must-read Dr. Saturday college football blog about why Tebow is likely to go Old Testament on Tennessee this weekend.

The Zeke 25:17 eye-black would just be appropriate symbolism to go with the on-field vengeance that is undoubtedly to occur.

Tebow Quote of the Day: On Lane Kiffin

"I don't like anyone talking about coach Meyer. I'll always have coach Meyer's back in anything...Coach Meyer doesn't cheat. He does the right thing. When people say something against him, I'll say that's not true. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

-- Tim Tebow, on Lane Kiffin's remarks about Urban Meyer, which Tebow had previously tossed off as really no big deal. The fact is: They are a VERY big deal. Kiffin didn't dis Tebow. He didn't dis Florida. He dissed Meyer -- Tebow's father figure in football. Get ready for pain in payback.

(Actually, Tebow said Georgia's end-zone disrespect in 2007 was much more motivating for the '08 beat-down than Tennessee's trash-talk this past offseason. "The Georgia thing was a lot different than coach Kiffin and the things that he said. I'm not going to harp on that and don't even want to talk about it much. It's not a big deal. It's just someone talking.")

For his part, this was Urban's quote about using Tennessee's talking to motivate the Gators:

"We'll do what we have to do."

Seriously: This is going to be a beat-down. I'm going to the game, and couldn't be more giddy about witnessing the prospects first-hand.

Tebow Quote of the Day: Meyer, Post-Troy

"We got Timmy back to playing like Timmy again."

-- Urban Meyer, on the number of play-calls that went to Tim Tebow running the ball.

Tim Tebow vs. Troy: The Summary

Preparing for Troy yesterday by looking back at Florida's win over Troy in the 2nd week of 2007 turned out to be pretty good foreshadowing: Tim Tebow had a very similar game yesterday, with 4 TDs passing and another on the ground, accounting for 300+ yards of total offense.

The good: Made great decisions, and had a couple of terrific throws. (The TD duck to Cooper wasn't one of them, but it did what it had to do. The TD pass to Brandon James was helped by a tremendous catch by No. 25 -- the best of his Florida career.)

The bad: The first quarter was ugly, at least from the offense. Don't know whether they were overconfident or thrown off by the weather or what -- but it was hard to watch, particularly the ball-security issues, which I'm sure drove Urban Meyer crazy.

The bottom-line: This was yet another "tune-up" game, and the 2nd and early 3rd quarters were the type of blitzkrieg that fans had expected to see from Tebow and the entire team heading into this season. There's no risk now of looking ahead: Tennessee is next.

You all have seen my campaign for the week: To get Tim Tebow to wear eye-black featuring "Zeke 25:17."

Here's the relevant snippet: "And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them." (It's the Jules quote from "Pulp Fiction.")

Tebow's Eye-Black: Mark 8:36

Tim Tebow broke out a new Bible verse on his eye-black today:

Mark 8:36

The passage: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Beyond the strict religious interpretation, that's not a bad secular or humanist guide to living.

I'm already starting to lobby for it now for him to wear next week:

Ezekiel 25:17 (or, for fitting on eye-black: Zeke 25:17)

If it sounds familiar, it's Jules' speech from "Pulp Fiction."

Here's the passage: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Seems fitting for Lane Kiffin's first visit to the Swamp, doesn't it?

Flashback: Tim Tebow vs. Troy 09/08/07

The last time Florida played Troy, it was the 2nd game of the Gators' 2007 season. Tim Tebow wasn't a clear Heisman front-runner -- yet -- but his game against Troy boosted his cred:

Passing: 18/25 for 236 yards with 3 TDs (Harvin, Ingram, Fayson) and 0 INTs

Rushing: Team-leading 95 yards on team-leading 17 carries (5.5 ypc) with 2 TDs, including a 3-yard run late in the 1st quarter to break a 7-7 game and start the Gators' offensive explosion, plus a 16-yard TD run late in the 4th to finish the Gators' 59-31 romp.

The Troy game takeaway: It foreshadowed Tebow's dominance the rest of the season -- both statistically and as the linchpin of Florida's scoring offense.

(At the same time, Troy's 31 points foreshadowed the greenness of the young and rebuilding Florida defense, which would hurt Florida throughout the rest of the season. I was at the Troy game in the Swamp, and aside from fans marveling at Tebow, they were concerned about the D.)

The 5 totals TDs built on Tebow's 4 TDs (3 pass/1 rush) in the season-opening win over Western Kentucky -- and established Tebow as THE must-see offensive player in the country.

The question for today: Will Tebow top 2007's 5 combined TDs? If Florida gets out to a big lead, how many extra plays will Urban Meyer give Tebow and the 1st-team offense, to get things aligned for next week's absurdly anticipated match-up with Tennesee.

4 hours 'til kickoff...

Tebow Quote of the Day: The CBS Guys

From Thursday's media conference with the CBS college football team:

Gary Danielson: "I'm one of the people who believes Tim Tebow's only position in the NFL is at quarterback. I don't think he's a tight end or a fullback. I think he is a quarterback, but he does need to learn how to be more of a pro-style quarterback. I don't think he would be happy just being a wildcat quarterback. We really don't know if he is an NFL-style quarterback yet."

Phil Fulmer: "When (Tebow) was a freshman, everybody said 'there's nobody who can be all that.' Well, Tim Tebow is all that. He puts that team on his shoulders every time he has to. I think he can do whatever he is asked to do."

Tim Brando: "This guy is unique. There's nobody I've ever seen quite like him. He walks the walk. I remember asking (former Ole Miss and NFL great) Archie Manning to put in perspective what Tim Tebow means to the position and what he means in terms of the history of the game. And Archie, the father of two No. 1 draft choices, two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks in Peyton and Eli, described how RogerStaubach ran as good as any quarterback he'd ever seen, and how Dan Marino had the quickest release and was so accurate, but Archie said he'd never seen a better football player play the position of quarterback than TimTebow. That says it all."

Spencer Tillman: "Tim Tebow's problems are correctable. I think the only thing he really needs to do — other than discern coverages, which is a big deal — is take some snaps from under center and learn how to extend plays instead of, after one and a half progressions, pulling it down and making something happen with his legs."

Tim Tebow On Cover of ESPN the Magazine

So Kenny Mayne's interview with Tim Tebow wasn't just fun fodder inside ESPN the Magazine -- it was the COVER story of ESPN the Magazine. (After that snub for Colt McCoy on the college preview issue, you KNEW they had to get Tebow on the cover sometime in the next few weeks...)

Tim Tebow vs. Michael Jordan: Best Evers?

Basketball Hall of Fame honoree Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all-time. Tim Tebow may be the greatest college football player of all-time. Beyond that -- or, perhaps, because of that -- they share some common qualities.

Obviously, a common meme here -- perhaps THE meme -- is the notion underlying this college football season that, in Tim Tebow, we could be watching the greatest college football player of all time, in real-time.

Making that more interesting: His "G.O.A.T." status is on the line, depending on how Florida performs this season (national title? unbeaten?) and how Tebow performs individually (Heisman-ish stats? Heisman-ish "moments?")

The last time fans were having this "are we watching the greatest player in this sport's history" conversation was the mid-90s, when Michael Jordan returned from his first retirement to lead the Bulls to 3 straight NBA titles -- most notably the '96 Bulls, who might have been the best team ever. (Sound familiar?)

It is hard to compare Tim Tebow to Michael Jordan precisely -- football (particularly college football) is so different from basketball (particularly pro basketball). Let me try:

Instant, flashy impact: In 1982, then-freshman Michael Jordan hit the game-winning shot for UNC to capture the national title.

In 2006, then-freshman Tim Tebow came off the bench, but was arguably Florida's MVP, making THE key plays to help UF capture the national title.

Dominance without championships: In the late-80s and early-90s, Michael Jordan had established himself as the best (and most exciting) player in basketball. He had yet to win a title, so doubters persisted.

In 2007, Tim Tebow established himself as the best (and most exciting) player in college football -- his Heisman season was, statistically, one of the greatest in college football history. And yet, the Gators' lack of any championship (SEC or otherwise) allowed doubters to persist.

Championships: A 15-year NBA career is tough to analogize to a 4-year college football career, but I think I see the pathway.

Michael Jordan established himself as a Top 5 all-time player when he won his first string of 3 titles from '91-93. Tim Tebow established himself as a Top 5 all-time player when he won his first title (as starting QB) last season.

Jordan then took himself to another level after his "I'm back" unretirement, by winning 3 more -- including the above-mentioned ridiculous '96 season.

Similarly, Tebow had his own "I'm back" moment -- announcing his return for his senior season -- and if he completes the national-title quest this year, it will be the college football equivalent of Jordan's second "three-peat."

(If Tebow can lead Florida to an unbeaten season, this team would be ranked among the best of all-time, not unlike Jordan's '96 team and its gaudy 72 wins was -- and is -- considered one of the best teams of all time.)

Legendary competitiveness: It is widely agreed that Jordan was the most competitive player in the history of basketball -- perhaps sports. At least until Tebow came along. Folks can disagree about whether Tebow truly is the "best ever," but even the ones who like to hedge with phrases like "could be" or "might be" agree that he is the fiercest competitor in the sport's history.

Mythology: Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team. Jordan made Dean Smith rethink freshmen. Jordan was passed over for Sam Bowie on Draft Night. Jordan had his sneakers banned by the NBA. Jordan froze out Isiah Thomas for the Dream Team. Jordan killed his teammates in practice. Jordan tries baseball. Jordan's flu game. I could go on and on. The point is this: No small part of Jordan's appeal was the mythology built up around him -- part of that came from his on-court amazingness; part of that came from stories that emerged off the court.

Given that he is only 22 years old, Tim Tebow has acquired as much mythology as Jordan -- the miracle birth, the home-schooling, the high school documentaries, the jump pass, the ministering to prisoners, the eye-black, the Chesney singing, the list goes on and on (and we have covered it here extensively). The point is that all "greatest of all time" candidates must combine individual talent with championships with mythology. A big question for Tebow remains whether his myth will end with college football or whether he will extend it in the NFL.

Endorsement potential: There was no greater marketing force in sports than Michael Jordan. Part of this was man-meets-moment (rise of Nike, rise of ESPN, rise of NBA, rise of 80s and 90s spending cultures). Part of this was his own savvy. Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, hot dogs... the list goes on and on. He even created his own shoe brand, which is selling like crazy these days. The Jordan brand continues to resonate as a marketing force.

For Tim Tebow, even though marketing spending by companies is shrinking, Tebow sizes up as someone who will buck the trend. I have already said this: From his first minute after his college eligibility ends and he can sign endorsement deals, he will be the most successful endorser in the NFL, instantly eclipsing Peyton Manning.

Between Tebow's All-American appeal and his fervent fan base, how can you NOT see him signing huge deals with: Nike, Gatorade (hmm...those two sound familiar?), EA Sports... hell, Hanes, auto companies, whatever -- and that doesn't even begin to account for marketing dollars he will see from companies affiliated with selling to the country's massive Evangelical Christian community. I'm not saying that this will signal a bounce back for all athlete endorsement deals; I'm saying that Tebow is a very very special case -- and will be paid that way.

And so as we celebrate Michael Jordan's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame tonight, it is a great moment to celebrate the sport's -- or sports' -- greatest of all time.

Tim Tebow may not be his sport's greatest-ever... yet. But he would be smart to draw inspiration from Michael Jordan -- even as their "G.O.A.T." bonafides seem to resemble each other.