The networks have spent the last few days fighting over who gets to air the New England Patriots Sunday visit to Colorado to play the Denver Broncos. CBS won – or at least retained the right they already had. And the game still starts at 2:15 MST. Why all the fuss from the television execs?
The answer is easy: Tom Terrific versus the Mile High Messiah. Yup, Brady versus Tebow. Gucci versus Levi. Prototype passer vs. wishbone attacker.
It really doesn’t get better than this. As a caveat/disclaimer, I’ve been a Bronco fan since I was 2, so any perceived bias contained below comes to me honestly. That said, I’ll do my best to be impartial (go Donkeys!).
Sure, both of the protagonists are saying the politically correct football things. When asked about the Messiah, Terrific deflected and merely said, “The Broncos are a very good team.” The Messiah has consistently maintained the Broncos recent success is a result of a “total team effort and that is what it will take to beat an outstanding, well coached New England team.” Blah, blah, blah.
Both of these comments are true, surely. But come on! This game features the two most popular players in the NFL (assuming you don’t live in Wisconsin). Not to mention they are quarterbacks. Not to mention that women swoon at the thought of them and men secretly (or in some cases publicly) desire to be them.
What makes the match up even more enticing is that it’s not a battle of good versus evil. Both of these guys – by most accounts – are decent folks. Both were ranked in the Top Ten Nicest Players in the NFL poll recently taken. It’s hard to root against them (though I do hope Von Miller makes Terrific cry like a little girl after a hit… a clean, legal hit of course).
Brady has cultivated an image of consummate cool, both on and off the field – his little tirade last week being the on field exception, just proving that at least he’s human. I still wonder what fashion magazine advises him on his post-game interview attire.
And Tebow has cultivated, well, is there anyone in the free-world who doesn’t know what sort of image Tebow has cultivated? Citizens of Colorado, always proud of their state, are now convinced that the Almighty spends his (or her) Sunday afternoons somewhere near Sports Authority Field. I heard him use the word “golly” in an interview last week – refreshingly odd was my first thought (and definitely not a word that Brady used in his sideline conversation with his offensive coordinator last weekend).
More than anything though, this will be a battle of two men – one with three Super Bowl titles and two MVP awards and one with two national championships and a Heisman trophy – who lead their respective teams and have a will to win that few of us will ever duplicate.
Without a doubt there will be other compelling stories and players involved in Sunday’s contest, but what it really comes down to is two great competitors, who hate to lose almost as much as they love to win, going head to head. Will pure talent in a proven system or a young upstart willing to do anything to win in a constant changing offense prevail? It’s going to be fun – I literally can’t wait.
May the best “T” win…
(GO BRONCOS!)
