What do you expect?

Great Expectations

I feel bad for Tim Tebow.

It’s hard to feel bad for someone who gets paid millions of dollars to play a game but I really do.  After another miserable passing performance, Tim had to deal with a Monday morning firestorm of people talking about how he “sucks” and doesn’t deserve to be a Quarterback in the NFL.  It’s more than just your run-of-the-mill criticism – people are actually happy to see him fail and circle around him like vultures.  Someone so inexperienced is usually treated with kid gloves but unfortunately Tim Tebow is just the latest victim of a very dangerous and familiar epidemic.

Unfair expectations.

Fact.  Tim Tebow is one of the greatest college football players ever.  He is a freak of an athlete, an incredible leader, winner and an all around good human being.  Having said that, there wasn’t a shred of evidence to suggest that he could ever be a successful NFL QB.  His footwork is questionable, he’s never had to run a offense under center and his mechanics are so poor that he tried to re-learn how to throw a football during pre-draft camp!  How could anyone expect anything from Tebow?  We all thought he would give it a good shot but eventually get converted to a fullback or some kind of “wildcat” option.

Then the Broncos screwed everything up.

For some reason the Denver Broncos drafted Tebow in the 1^st round when no team would even look at him before round 3.  A pick that high also comes with an expensive price tag so instead of being under the radar, Tebow became a very visible and rich rookie Quarterback.  Because of his All-American looks, Christian values and humble personality, he instantly became the most popular player on the team and was “pushed” into the starting QB role.  Conversely, all of those who thought that he has not earned his position and the fame that goes along with it, are literally wishing for his downfall.  So now every week has turned into this overdramatic reality show filled with intense emotions and hyperbole.

But is it Tim’s fault?  What part of this did he actually ask for?  All he did was say how his dream is to be a starting QB and he was willing to work as hard as it took to achieve it.  He didn’t ask then head coach and general manager, Josh McDaniels to draft him in the first round or the owner to cut him such a fat check, but who would have turned down the opportunity?  For the record, McDaniels was fired last year for making other brilliant decisions like trading away his two best players because of their egos.  Why should Tebow feel the brunt of McDaniels’ idiocy?  Tim was given the keys to a Porche before he even learned how to drive so of course he crashed it.  But when you are put in position where all you can do is fail, you’re not a failure you’re a victim.

The weight of too much expectation can crush anyone’s shoulders and it’s important to recognize when our expectations are unfair.  You may like playing the guitar and one day want to record an album but if someone stuck you in front of 20,000 people at MSG tomorrow, you are going to choke.  Tim Tebow deserved an opportunity to work at a pace that would allow him to succeed or fail based on his ability to learn and improve and not be thrown in the fire before he was ready for it.  However, if Tim wants to speak to someone who also has enormous expectations despite historical levels of obstacles and complications, he only needs to speak to one man.

President Obama.