Tim Tebow Tours The Big Apple Ahead Of Jets Conference
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Jets will formally introduce Tim Tebow as their new backup quarterback on Monday. He spent the weekend taking in some of what the Big Apple has to offer.
The new Jet was all smiles as he hit the Great White Way Saturday night to take in the Broadway hit "Wicked." Tebowmania kicked in to overdrive last week, when Gang Green announced the deal to acquire the star quarterback from the Denver Broncos, as a backup to Mark Sanchez.
Some, however, wonder if the understudy will outshine the starter, at least when it comes to star power.
"I can't tell you one thing he did outside of football in Denver - 72 hours he's been a Jet and we already know his theater taste," said Jon Wetheim of Sports Illustrated.
No sooner was the trade announced that Jockey trumpeted its marketing deal with Tebow with an electronic billboard on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel. The spotlight will only get more intense as fans question whether the deal had more to do with publicity than talent.
"We sort of take pride in toughening people up and calling out the frauds and seeing what people are made of, and I think part of this is really New Yorkers trying trying to see is Tebow for real or is this just another creation?" said Wetheim.
Tebow has already gained national attention for bringing his Christian faith to the football field. His kneeling and praying, Tebowing as it's called, caught on, but how will it fare in New York?
"In Denver, a big component of his fan base at least, at first, were people who felt sympathy with him or part of this faith-based community, but I don't think in New York he necessarily has this evangelical base," said Wetheim.
Parishioners at Manhattan's First Baptist Church think Tebow's faith will get him through any tough times to come.
"He'll have his detractors, but he'll also have his supporters," said Tim van Hooser of Darien, Connecticut.
"Coming into this city he has to be like mentally and internally strong for it because this city will rip you apart if you don't succeed," said Ruben Etienne of Morningside Heights.
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