Sports

Tim Tebow Puts Sports In The Proper Perspective

March 3, 2017 8:22 PM·

By Luis Vazquez

Tim Tebow practices his swing during batting practice in Port St. Lucie, FL. Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tim Tebow practices his swing during batting practice in Port St. Lucie, FL. Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal

There are many things that have been said about Tim Tebow, a former two-time NCAA football champion for the Florida Gators now aspiring professional baseball player trying to secure a job with the New York Mets.

But much of it has been negative which can be traced to his faith which has been his greatest challenge which is why he doesn’t overestimate his sports obstacles but embraces the difficulty of not playing a sport in twelve years.

“Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing in sports,” Tebow said, “Part of the challenge is why it’s fun, and why it’s something I’m enjoying and loving.”

Now, at 29 he is taking a stab at baseball playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions and was invited to pre-season camp with the New York Mets where he has garnered a lot of attention with his presence more than anything he has done with the bat. But Tebow is not worried. Sports is a means to an end. It always has been.

To Tebow, compared to life outside the protected manicured lawns, sports is a glorified game, nothing more. “What pressure do you have if your 0 for 12 at the plate versus someone that is fighting for their life. Someone that we picked up on the side of the street in Haiti because their crippled or they’re not wanted and they’re thrown into the garbage,” Tebow said

tim tebow batting“How do you compare those things? For me there’s not a comparison. And that’s why you’re able to handle sports as a game because it still is. Yeah, we can pursue it, we can give so much of our time, energy and effort to it but at the end of the day, I know that’s not why I’m here.”

Tebow always undertood that the attention he gets from being good at sports has allowed him to voice his Faith to a larger audience. He doesn’t deny it. His fanbase is quite sizable as this .190 hitter held a 15-minute press conference to talk sports but was turned into a short sermon on how sports and real life differ. “

I am so grateful for sports because it has given me a platform to be able to share and love and care for people all over the world so I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Tebow said.

 But whether Tebow can actually make the team or not, he knows there is a bigger world out there. He has been pressured all his life but never a crack has ever been revealed because his belief is true. And he sees himself being positioned for bigger things. 
“That’s not my biggest purpose, It’s not my biggest calling. It’s not how I want to be known in in my life,” Tebow said “I want my life to be so much more than that. I want to be known as someone that was known for bringing faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. And that is something that is a life calling for me and it’s so much bigger than sports.”

Comment: Facebook.com/luis.armando.50

 

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Author: Rich has covered countless New York Mets and Yankees games along with some of the greatest boxing matches over the years. His award winning sports column has been in the Bronx News (which recently folded) for 28 years. Mancuso also has been a sports journalist for the Associated Press, New York Daily News, Gannett Westchester newspapers, Boxing Digest Magazine, The Sports Network and Latinosports.com. Bronxites will recall that Rich once hosted a sports talk television program, “Bronx Scoreboard” on Bronxnet Television. In addition, Mancuso recently concluded a four-year run hosting a sports talk program on the Whitney Broadcasting Network station WVOX.