Congrats to the Gators and a Fine Young Man

Congratulations to the University of Florida Gators for securing their 2nd college football championship in three years with a 24-14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Championship Game. Not being a huge fan of either team, what did grab my interest was Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Florida Gators.

Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore (and was the first underclassman to do so), is not only a monster of a college football player, but is also a devout Christian and son of missionary parents. He spends time during his vacations working in the evangelistic center and orphanage his parents run in the Phillipines, and takes time to visit Florida prisons to share the gospel. Pat Forde, a columnist from ESPN.com, reminds fans to appreciate the Tim Tebow experience, because there aren't many who carry themselves the way that he does.

The article also mentions Tebow's admiration for Danny Wuerffel, another devout Christian who starred with Florida, won himself a Heisman Trophy, and as many analysts predicted (and as some predict of Tebow, as well), didn't have a huge impact at the NFL-level. Wuerffel, after a cup of coffee in the NFL, quit the game and went to work for Desire Street Ministries, which focuses on the spiritual and community development of impoverished neigborhoods in New Orleans. Tebow has been wonderful in carrying his faith in the spotlight. Should the Lord take him out of that spotlight someday, he still has a good role model in Danny Wuerffel - who kept the faith even as the glory and fame of NFL became a memory.

A little trivia about Tim Tebow and his family. Lauren, a friend of mine from church, actually knew the Tebow family in her childhood, and wrote in her blog of a memory of a little Tim Tebow playing with racecars and blocks in his room. That's very cool. Should I have any childhood memories of people who someday become famous, I will try to avoid the mischievous temptation of making up stories, telling people "I remember the time they defacated in the sandbox", or something similarly unflattering.