COLUMBUS, Ohio — ESPN announced this week it will air a six-part documentary on former Yankees captain Derek Jeter to run sometime next year.
Not sure I see six episodes on Jeter’s career, but he’s no doubt a worthwhile topic much in the same way Michael Jordan and the dynastic Bulls were in the network’s wonderful 10-part saga “The Last Dance.”
Which brings us to the other major sports item of the week regarding a celebrated athlete. Tim Tebow is back in the news. The Jaguars are giving the soon-to-be 34-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner a tryout as a tight end.
One can only imagine how many parts ESPN will dedicate to Tebow’s life story given how the sports network's obsession with him over the years. If such a cinematic project is ever pursued, I guarantee it will be a ratings sensation despite the fact Tebow has been at best a mediocre pro athlete in football and baseball.
The reason we launched Talking Points several months ago was to give readers an opportunity to comment on the biggest sports stories of the week, and I’m really interested in your thoughts on this specific topic. Seriously, what is America’s fascination with Tebow? In 30 years as a sports writer, I’ve never witnessed so much attention paid to an athlete who’s achieved so little in the pro ranks. And it's not just the media, folks. Networks and publications know which sports celebrities sell and which ones don't. It's why you will never see a multi-part series on Tim Duncan or Greg Maddux.
To be clear, I have nothing against Tebow. He seems like a genuinely nice person with a strong faith and a philanthropic heart. Those are admirable qualities. But the former first-round pick of the Broncos appeared in 35 NFL games and started just 16 as a quarterback, completing 47.9 percent of his passes. After washing out as a football player, he spent five years trying to make it in baseball, never getting out of the minors.
We’re not talking about multi-sport standouts such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. And yet anything Tebow does in sports creates headlines. Why?
When NFL teams announce summer tryouts, they normally lump them together in one press release. The Jaguars issued an expansive separate for Tebow, a football player who’s never caught a pass in the NFL. You wonder how this is playing inside the Jaguars’ locker room, and with other capable tight ends trying to earn their shot in the league.
Obviously, Tebow has deep ties to Urban Meyer, the Jaguars’ new coach who won two NCAA titles with him as quarterback at the University of Florida. Is Meyer simply doing his old pal a favor, giving him one last chance at the high-level competition he craves? Or, is Meyer shrewdly using Tebow Mania as a training camp distraction to remove attention and pressure from No. 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence?
Tebow is a beloved figure in Florida and his comeback story at a new position will generate ample headlines. News outlets love polarizing figures because they draw eyeballs. Yet in most cases, the athletes are highly accomplished. Think LeBron James, Tom Brady, Conor McGregor. Tebow hasn’t enjoyed sustained success in more than a decade, and only then it was in college.
There’s no question Tebow is a charismatic athlete, one who’s used his platform to promote his spirituality. Muhammad Ali did the same throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Ali was a legendary fighter, however, among the greatest heavyweights of all time. Tebow is not in that category. He’s a cultural phenomenon without the athletic resume, a Johnny Manziel without the rap sheet.
If a man his age finds unlikely success in the NFL, it will make for a great story. But right now it feels like a lot of coverage devoted to someone who probably will be cut at end of training camp. I guess it will make for a gripping installment in a 14-part ESPN documentary.
YOUR TURN: What is it about Tim Tebow that’s so fascinating and does his story merit the coverage?