Tim Tebow Zone

It’s New Year’s Eve… you know what that means? Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators are only one day away from their New Years Day Capital One Bowl Game against the dangerous Michigan Wolverines. Most lines I’ve seen have the Gators favored by 14 pts or so.

The Wolverines have a lot of fire power on offense, led by senior quarterback Chad Henne, wide receiver Mario Manningham, and senior running back Mike Hart. The Wolverines bring one of the most balanced offenses the Gators have seen all year. They’ll likely try to attack the Gators young secondary (much like every other team has this year) by putting the ball in the air. The Wolverines may put up 30+ points on the Gators… but somehow I don’t think that’ll be enough.

See the Gators have the X Factor. And his name is Tim Tebow.

Tebow’s been practing and chopping at the bits to get back on the field and lay it to someone, probably an unsuspecting linebacker. Tebow will prove to everyone in the country why he was named the Heisman Trophy winner and AP Player of the Year. Michigan just doesn’t have a strong enough defense to stop Tebow on the ground or in the air.

I predict Tebow will have another monster game. Something like 280 yards passing and 90 yards rushing with about 5 total touchdowns. Actually, now that I think about it… that’s not a monster game for Tebow, it’s pretty much average.

The game is being played in Orlando, so you can expect a very large and loud Gator crowd at the stadium. Michigan will travel, but they won’t come close to the number of Gators fans. The game is at 1:00, so don’t forget to tune in!

Go Gators!

For more discussion on the Capital One Bowl Game, please visit Gator Envy.

Most of you know that Tim Tebow broke his non-throwing hand against FSU a couple of weeks ago. He was giving a cast to speed up the healing process and was seen still wearing the cast during the Heisman Ceremony.Tebow is now practicing without the cast. When asked about how his hand feels, Tebow said, “It’s getting better. I’m able to have full range of motion with it. Obviously, it’s not quite as strong as it was, but the strength is pretty decent.”

The Florida Gators have been in Orlando the past few days at the Wide World of Sports in Disney. They’re spending a lot of time practicing and prepping for the Capital One Bowl Game against Michigan. When Tebow isn’t getting mobbed by fans in restaurants or out in the city, he does find time to talk to reporters about the UM game.

“They’re a very good team. They’re a big, physical team, probably one of the bigger teams we’ve faced this year,” Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow said of the Wolverines. “So we’re going to have to be very sound in our blocking and everything like that and really execute and try to work with our speed a little bit.”

It’s nice to see Tebow giving UM some respect. Some many team’s immediately talk bad about Tebow and the Gators, like when Geno Hayes said he was going to take Tebow down. That’s not how you get karma on your side.

If you already have a Tim Tebow autograph, consider yourself very lucky. Due to the insane demand for Tebow autographs, the University of Florida has asked that he stop signing them. Apparently it  “compromises his ability to handle his rigorous schedule as a successful student-athlete.” Lucky for me, I got my autographed football last year during a fan day when demand wasn’t so high.

I’ve heard reports that fans follow Tebow everywhere he goes. Even the coaches had the shuttle him in a golf cart to get to the practice fields because of the huge mobs. I’m sure it will die down some… the fans are just uber excited to see the Heisman and AP Player of the Year winner.

So be very cautious when purchasing Tebow autographs. We now know that Tebow won’t be signing many autographs, if he signs any at all. That means don’t go buying autographed stuff on Ebay, because it probably isn’t real. Only get a Tebow autograph if you see him in person, but be sure to be kind and sensitive to him and his family.

Darren McFadden won’t be on Tim Tebow’s Christmas list this year. Just the other day, Tebow was named the AP Player of the year…with second place going to McFadden again. The AP Player of the Year award is a big honor. Not as big as the Heisman, but definitely up there. Tebow received 31 of a possible 58 votes for the award.

“That’s cool,”Tebow said Tuesday. “Again, it’s a huge honor. It’s a cool thing. Any time you’re honored for an individual award, it goes back to the team. Without those guys and their support, you can’t accomplish something like that on your own.”

Congratulations to Timmy. Once again, he’s had an amazing 2007 season. One that will probably never be duplicated again… that is unless he repeats in 2008

The folks over at Pimp Myspace have given us permission to offer their new Tim Tebow Myspace Layouts to all the Tebow fans here at Tebow Zone. They’re pretty cool, and probably layouts you’ve never seen before. Below is an example of one of the layouts you can find. They all have Tebow pictures in them with orange, blue and black backgrounds. The perfect Myspace layout for any Tebow or Gator fan.

If you’re on Myspace, be sure to tell all your friends where to get the newest Tebow layouts. I’m sure they’ll be adding a lot more once the new football season begins.

The hype and love surrounding Tim Tebow in 2007 is unlike any college athlete has ever seen. More than Reggie Bush and more than Hershel Walker. The phenomenon of Tim Tebow is truly amazing. Gator fans are grateful to have him on our team.

My question going forward is, will the hype continue next season? Will Tebow be the heisman front-runner from week 1? Will Tebow be on ESPN commercials and have special stories told about him (like the bio mechanics lab story ESPN told about how Tebow worked on his throwing motion). This year was set up for Tebow to be in the spotlight.

Do you think next year will be the same? Or will Tebow’s fame and hype die down?  Now that Tebow has a national championship and a Heisman, is there much more the media can do to hype him up? They very well could find a new athlete to pump up and push for glory.

Thanks to fan sites like this, Tebow will always have his name out there. But if he wants to continue to be the most famous player in college football, he only needs to do one thing. Win games. If Tebow can continue to put up stats and win games, the hype surrounding him will never fade.

Tim Tebow was spotted at the Falcons vs. Buccaneers game yesterday afternoon in Tampa, FL. He was seen chilling in one of the skyboxes.

Since Tebow is from Jacksonville, this makes me wonder if Timmy is a Bucs fan or a Jaguars fan? In the picture taken of Tebow at the game, he wasn’t wearing a Bucs shirt so it’s hard to say if he was just there to enjoy an afternoon of professional football or if he was there to cheer on his favorite NFL team. Hmmmm?

Maybe Tebow was there to check out the stadium and the facilities? The Bucs would love to tank it next year and grab a franchise quarterback in Tebow (assuming he leaves after his junior year). Tebow staying in the state of Florida would be the best thing for him. He’d be close to his family, UF, and all the Tebow maniac fans.

Tim Tebow was named to the AP All-American team the other day. Another high honor for our beloved Gator Quarterback. It just goes to show that the support for Tebow is nation wide, and not limited to the regional fans in the south that get to watch him every Saturday.

In addition to the AP All-American honor, Tebow was also honored at the Swamp by having his jersey put up in the stadium.  The following snip is from the Gainesville Sun:

When told last Saturday night after winning the Heisman he would have his name and number placed on the wall nearest the Gator tunnel, the sophomore quarterback said “That’s awesome. To have that up there at The Swamp… That’s something that you’ll come back and see the rest of your life.”

That’s just awesome. The picture below shows what it looks like for those of who you can’t make it to Gainesville. BTW, I wonder what it would take for them to retire his number?

Photo copyright Brandon Kruse/The Gainesville Sun

Gator Envy is celebrating its 1 year anniversary by giving away a $50 VISA Gift Card. All you have to do is sign up on the website (which is free and only takes like 10 seconds) and guess who will win the Capital One Bowl Game: the Florida Gators or the Michigan Wolverines? And really, that’s pretty easy since we all know the Gators are going to rock the Wolverines.

Imagine all the Gator merchandise you can get with that $50 Visa Gift Card. There’s no reason why all you Tebow fans can’t go there and enter in the official contest. Gator Envy has a lot of mature Gator fans just talking about what we love, Gator Sports. It’s a great community for Tebow and Gator fans alike.

If you decide to enter, be sure to leave a comment here too so I know to look for you!