Pro football’s newest saint

Finally, football has its own saint.

Forget the Hail Mary pass. Step aside, St. Jude. Hear the evangelical buzz surrounding Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos who specializes in desperate causes.

Tebow is an out-front Christian kid who had a stellar college career but faced an uncertain professional fate -- good athlete, fine leader, but scouts said he didn't fit the skill set of a modern pro quarterback. He was relegated to second string this year with the Broncos, who began the season poorly, winning one of their first five games.

Then Tebow got his chance. His first game as a starter this year came Oct. 23 against the Miami Dolphins.

Down 15-0 with less than three minutes to play, Tebow threw a touchdown pass to make it 15-7. When the Broncos set up for a last-ditch onside kick, defensive back Champ Bailey told Tebow: "Don't worry, we're going to get it back for you."

When they did, Tebow said: "After that, I started believing."

Tebow took the field with seconds remaining and threw another touchdown pass, followed by a two-point conversion, making it 15-15. The game proceeded to overtime. Miami fumbled. The Broncos recovered and kicked a field goal to win.

The legend of Tebow caught fire, fueled by Miami linebacker Karlos Dansby, who said after losing to Tebow: "He has a special anointing on him. And for God to show himself in that game the way He did ... it opened a lot of guys' eyes on our team. And it brought a lot of guys closer to God."

Wow.

A guy paid to administer punishing sacks on quarterbacks sounded that day like he was satisfied to just to touch the hem of Tebow's jersey.

Tebow validated the miracle in Miami with subsequent wins. He has his team in first place and fans believing the Broncos can do anything. The operative word is "believe," and the adoration doesn't end there.

The Denver Post reports multitudes of fans buying Tebow's No. 15 Broncos jersey from the official NFL store (at $100 a pop, by the way) and replacing the name "Tebow" with "Jesus."

Tebow's pastor, Wayne Hanson, told TMZ (yes, TMZ!) that the Broncos' success is due entirely to God's favor.

"It's not luck," Hanson says. "Luck isn't winning six games in a row. It's favor. God's favor."

Asked if the Broncos would be winning if Tebow were not such a strong believer, Hanson added: "No, of course not."

That kind of Tebow veneration will no doubt get some ribbing. Not from me. Tebow has his faith, and that's a good thing, even if it's not expressed exactly in a way that rings my bell.

I'll only point out two things.

First, God doesn't care much about the NFL. She likes college football, especially the SEC teams.

Second, there's a reason we prefer our saints dead. Keeping miracles coming isn't easy, especially if it requires come-from-behind wins in the National Football League.

This week, for example, Tebow and the Broncos take on a very good New England Patriots team and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

Bookies at mid-week made Tebow a 6-point underdog. However, getting the red-hot Broncos at home with St. Tebow, God's favor and 6 points may be too much of a deal for even godless bettors to pass up.

But let me tell you: Should the Broncos win outright this afternoon, the Tebow frenzy will not only explode, someone somewhere will see Tim Tebow's jersey number on a slice of toasted bread.

Bet me.

Sherman Frederick, former publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, writes a column for Stephens Media. Read his blog at www.lvrj.com/blogs/sherm.