Tim Tebow, the quarterback who can't pass, was unveiled as the New York Jets' newest addition in a press conference fit for a king (or an apostle) at their training facility in Florham Park, NJ. He told the scrum of media, “I’m excited to be on a football team that’s a tough football team that’s a physical football team. Hopefully by me being here we can be a little better, and I can add something to this football team." He also thanked his "Lord Savior and Jesus Christ" a lot!
Tebow also said, "It's such an honor for me to be here. I'm so excited to be a Jet. I want to thank the Broncos for my time in Denver. ... I'm just looking forward to my time in New York and my time as a Jet. I'm so excited about meeting my teammates, I've had the opportunity to meet a few already." He says he's been texting with the Jets' star quarterback, Mark Sanchez, "From my conversations about him he was excited to be working with me, and I am excited. I have a lot of respect for him as a person, football player. We talked about that. I am excited about that opportunity."
Bottom line: Tebow is excited. He said, "I think for everybody that puts on a uniform, you want to go out there and you want to play. I want to be a Jet, help the team however we can." So does Rex Ryan, who told reporters earlier, "I don’t see Tim just holding a clipboard. He’s going to be playing for us. There is no doubt. He will have a role. We know that. There won’t be a better Wildcat quarterback in the game. Is that his only role? I don’t believe that - we’ll see what happens." (New Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano is the wildcat guru.)
The press conference had to be moved from the Jets' usual media room to the field house because of the crowd. ESPN New York says, "In terms of volume, it was the largest news conference in team history." The Star-Ledger Steve Politi Tweeted about the hubbub, "I'm live in Florham Park, where Tim Tebow is set to accept the Republican nomination. Or, at least the setup is big enough for that." But later Politi admitted, "I've cracked a few jokes, but it's impossible not to appreciate the professionalism and polish Tebow has shown today."
Former Jet and ESPN analyst Damien Woody was, though, unhappy with the situation and voiced what a lot of people are thinking—that it's a short-term publicity blitz— "How many times has a backup quarterback had a press conference? How many times have there been helicopters to meet a backup quarterback at the airport? The organization is saying he’s the backup quarterback. Well, then why do you feel like you have to have a press conference? Why not just do a conference call and call it a day? It’s a marketing ploy.”
You can watch the entire press conference here.
