Quick Thinking: Tebowned

I'm not going to tell you I don't believe in football gods.

Because I do.

But to think one's faith can influence the outcome of a game or attributing a player's good fortune to a belief structure is simply irresponsible. Competitive sports are about talent, preparation, chance and effort. They're not about religious beliefs. Religion offers promise of reward for blind obedience to a particular ideology. Sports don't.

And neither do football gods.

What football gods do promise, however, is that no one team will ever be above the game itself. Just ask the 2007 "near miss perfection" New England Patriots.

[ SIDE NOTE: START ]

The football gods obviously fell asleep at the wheel back in '72. Maybe that was the cost for Neptune's pet Dolphin. Or maybe their warring brethren needed some help with that Vietnam disaster.

Who knows.

But that babbling buffoon Mercury Morris serves as a constant reminder of their greatest mistake anytime a team creeps towards perfection. And that's not a mistake they'll be repeating.

Ever.

[ SIDE NOTE: END ]

So when Tebow's star power began to transcend his sport the football gods had to react. They had no choice, really. Lucky for Patriot Nation, 2007's sacrificial lamb, judgment was levied in the form of a 45-10 beat down at Gillette Stadium.

Let's hope Terrell Suggs' arrogance is their next target.

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Quick Thinking
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-- How the book Moving the Chains: Tom Brady and the Pursuit of Everything stayed off my radar since 2006 makes me feel like an inadequate member of Patriot Nation.

-- Good thing I'm familiar with inadequate members.

-- Question of the Week asks why does Tebow throwing for 316 in a win against the Steelers prompt manifest connection to John 3:16, but throwing for 136 in a loss against the Patriots becomes negligible?

-- Probably because it ruins that whole #godwantstebowtowin narrative the media was pumping up.

-- For the believers out there, John 1:36 reads, "When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, 'Look, the Lamb of God!'"

-- Proving to be quite the complicated parable, isn't it?

-- Quote of the Week goes to Big Nick for texting me the following after New England dispatched Denver Saturday night, "Well, at least Tebow is a good Christian and will forgive the Pats for kicking the shit out of him."

-- Amen.

-- Californication has officially jumped the shark.

-- Yesterday was a big win for so many reasons. Not the least of which is helping remedy the fact I kinda forgot what it felt like to win a playoff game.

-- Not personally, of course.

-- Tony! Toni! Tone! sums it up nicely.

-- Yeahhhhh!

-- Thank god the 90's are over, huh?

-- Speaking of nostalgia, I'm gonna miss all that "one and done" playoff talk surrounding the Patriots.

-- After all, I had the same nickname in high school.

-- It was upgraded to "6 Seconds of Thunder" in college.

-- For those of you keeping score at home, I've graduated to "The Bolt" in my adult life.

-- Still can't get past his 9.58 second record, though.