NFL

Tim Tebow Played With Torn Rib Cartilage In The Second Half Of The Patriots Game

In the process of their 45-10 demolition of the Broncos over the weekend, the New England Patriots injured Tim Tebow. leaving him with a bruised chest and shoulder in addition to torn rib cartilage. They left him in enough pain, in fact, that had the Broncos advanced to the AFC championship game, Tebow reportedly maybe probably wouldn’t have played in it:

Had the Broncos defeated the Patriots, Tebow in all likelihood would not have been able to play in the AFC championship game this week.

And, if Tebow is selected to the AFC Pro Bowl team as a second alternate, he is not likely to be able to play due to the injuries.

And that’s where Tebowmania causes us once again to marvel. We thought it couldn’t surprise us any more than it has. And then, Tebow’s hypothetical injury status for a game the Patriots made sure the Broncos were never even close to threatening to play in is a story…one that reeled us in enough to talk about it, at that. Tebowmania (and the backlash it causes) – it’s bigger than us all.

Because honestly: “had the Broncos defeated the Patriots”? The way that game went, that was about as close to happening as me riding a unicycle on a tightrope while spinning plates. Yet here we are. And part of it is that, as usual, Tebow said the exact right thing about playing through the pain:

“I just wanted to show character. You just continue to fight and it doesn’t change who you are, how you play, how you go out there, you should be the same at all times. That’s what I wanted to show, it didn’t matter if it was the first play or the last play or you were down by 42. I was going to be the same player and I was still going to give everything I have. Because that’s all I have to give.”

For all the (justified) talk of how he’s not a very good quarterback, for all the controversy over his in-your-face displays of Christianity…Tebow’s also compelling because he plays hard and physical (indeed, in a way that will always make him vulnerable to injuries like this), with a competitiveness just as overt as his thanks to Jesus. So as long as there’s any excuse to talk about Tebow, Tebow will be talked about. And even if all the talk seems ridiculous…we’ll probably just wind up talking about him too.

Getty photo, by Jim Rogash