Well, this was bound to happen, a low-scoring contest with a pair of top-notch teams clashing in a Saturday night SEC showdown. Once again, the Florida Gators aren’t pulverizing their opponents or failing to create large margins.
It certainly signifies that Urban Meyer’s squad is not nearly the same dominant team as a year ago. No team is intimidated or agitated, encountering a well-mannered citizen Tim Tebow, who is an immaculate and generous man quarterbacking the Gators to meritorious achievements.
He’s a cool dude, engaged with strong religious backgrounds at the Swamp where he's building upon a valuable legacy that will always have its own realm. His endearing charisma is likable, changing the mindsets and reminding teammates to take the urgent approach.
Even though most are accustomed to Tebow’s unpredictable jump passes and outlandish tricks rarely executed by a quarterback, he’s not an almighty god or Superman. Our minds are brainwashed, used to seeing his unexpected game-changing plays, and ignore possibilities of freak accidents.
Just like the rest, Tebow is human. He divulged this when he suffered a severe concussion two weeks ago and carefully prevailed yet in the most substantial game. On an important night, it constituted a contest with massive bowl implications. In his first return since the injury, at a hostile territory where LSU faithful were rambunctious under the raindrops, Tebow was an intrepid adventurer.
That’s what most referred to him as, recovering slowly from his frighten injury. But he guided Florida’s offense, handing off more passes in the spread formation. The running game was active and dynamically a perfect concept on a night his soft skull was in danger of additional damage, even when doctors cleared Tebow to play mid-morning.
If it had not been for Urban Meyer, Florida’s mastermind coach, who had the national title on his mind and selfishly insisted that Tebow take a risk, John Brantley could've started and made an attempt guiding the top school in the nation. Leading up to the game, Meyer encouraged Tebow to put his career and life on the line, to stay national title bound.
The problem I had with this ordeal is how could a coach encourage a player to start the game after suffering a brutal injury? And how could he give much latitude, calling it a game-time decision? Fine, much was at stake, entering a matchup with fourth-ranked LSU. Perhaps keeping national title hopes intact was more crucial than a weakened skull that couldn’t experience another bull-rush, painful collision.
Each possession offered scary thoughts, quickly recalling the incident that occurred two weeks ago, when he vomited, appeared dazed and was carted off the field. Later, he was transported to an ambulance and to a Kentucky hospital, where he stayed overnight before finally been discharged.
From experiencing a dangerous moment, predicting that Tebow was better off sitting it out, indicated common sense. Oh, but not for a tough guy, willing to put his life in harms way to keep national title dreams alive. He wasn’t worried, surviving aggressive bull-rushes and blitzes by LSU’s much-improved defense. But he lasted a three-hour contest without taking significant hits directly to the head, and ultimately downplayed the aftermath of his terrifying concussion.
The most beloved athlete in the nation failed recognizing possible aftereffects and dangerous speculations of significant head trauma. At Death Valley, he faced frightened afterthoughts, but took harassment and violent tackles from defenders. Instead of sitting out a game, Tebow wasn’t concerned about his health and guided the Gators to a 13-3 victory over the Tigers to keep them in national contention.
His presence was vital, and favored their outcome in Baton Rouge, where it seems like an intimidating environment. It was momentary, when Tebow amazingly outlasted a corner blitz and formidable jerk when Lazarius Levingston yanked the facemask, to which he was whistled for a personal foul that initiated leeway for the Gators offensively.
Despite recovering from a concussion, Tebow gets fired up instantly. Having a tough-driven mentality, allows him to create in the option and spread formation. It certainly seemed to be their trick, when he hurled a 24-yard scoring pass to a wide open Riley Cooper.
A large crowd made the trip, Gator-chomping on an evening with much uncertainty. A nice capacity witnessed a splendid performance by Tebow, throwing 11 of 16 passes for 134 yards and an interception in a meaningful game. As most Gators faithful were proud, few worried heavily until the game ended at Tiger Stadium, where LSU had won 32 consecutive games.
Tebow dominated on the field, staying healthy as if he had never suffered a concussion. That's because he’s a tough-minded player, and doesn’t allow an injury to cease his capabilities. On the night, he was mobile as usual, despite limited rushes because the Gators medical staff wanted to be cautious.
Sure, it was relatively expected, when precautionary actions had to be taken. Most would’ve had common sense, knowing that his presence as a rushing quarterback would be minimized. But mostly, he completed the game phenomenally, despite not having an effective rush attack, a dynamic attribute that describes a powerful Tebow.
He’s the world’s powerful athlete, and greatest role model. Usually, when a player takes a shot to the head, they are confounded, but Tebow is the same as before. He’s a player with heart, dignifying passion to win.
He’s a champ, by far, surviving Baton Rouge trauma. No more concussions, just an antidote for putting aside headaches and uplifting gratifications.