Tim Tebow has become the talk of the NFL, leading the Broncos to victories in seven of the eight games he has started and, improbably, into first place in the AFC West. The second-year quarterback took time from his preparation for Sunday’s game with the Patriots to talk with The Post’s Steve Serby for this exclusive Q & A.
Q: How does Tim Tebow get his teammates to believe, especially when the game is on the line?
A: I’m so blessed to be part of a team that has such high character and fights to the very end. As a team, we try to encourage each other to believe until the very end. My teammates do a great job of encouraging me.
Q: What drives you?
A: Several things. What drives me is in everything I do, I want to do it all through the glory of God. I want to give everything I have to glorify the Lord for what He’s blessed me with and to make the most of my talent. I also want to make my family proud and represent the Tebow name. I want to make my teammates proud, and I want to win for my teammates and coaches.
Q: Which quarterbacks do you enjoy watching, current or old, and why?
A: I liked watching Steve McNair because he was extremely tough and you could tell everyone followed him. He was a great leader. I liked watching Steve Young because he was very athletic and is left-handed. I like watching Tom Brady because he is so precise at what he does and is able carve defenses up. I like watching Peyton Manning because he is a great player who has mastered the cerebral parts of the game.
Q: Give me an up-to-date scouting report on Tim Tebow the quarterback.
A: I’m a young quarterback who constantly works and tries to get better every single day. I trust my teammates that we are going to go out there and play together as a team. I am very blessed to have teammates who make me look a lot better than I really am.
Q: What are you feeling inside when the game is on the line?
A: I try to find a peace and a calmness and a motivation to do whatever it takes and to try to find a way to go out there and play for my teammates and get it done. I try to show character and fight until the very end. Starting strong but always finishing stronger. I think that has a lot to do with your character and your training and what you put into it. You always want to finish stronger than you started.
Q: How do you feel about and how do you handle the lack of privacy when you are out to dinner or out in general? Have there been any bothersome or funny incidents?
A: It has its pros and cons. Obviously, I’d like to go out with friends and family and have a nice, private dinner. That can sometimes be hard. But, there are many positive things that come with that recognition. I can walk into a hospital room and can share with kids and have an impact on them. Or, you can meet amazing people like Kelly Faughnan, a very special and courageous girl that I’ll host at Sunday’s game. Ultimately, that platform is a lot more important than the few people who may approach you when eating dinner. Sometimes, you can also have a great effect on those people by treating them kindly or saying nice words, encouraging them or just saying God bless them.
Q: What do you want your coaches and teammates saying about you?
A: My goal would be for my teammates and coaches to say that I’m someone who tries to put them first and cares about them. Someone who is a great teammate and a great friend and someone who is the same way every single day. Someone who is who he says he is and what he says he believes. Someone who stands up for the right thing and someone who when he goes on the field plays as hard as he possibly can and gives his heart and soul for his teammates. Someone who leaves everything on the field.
Q: What is your gameday routine?
A: I have my same routine of what I eat, what times I eat, meetings with coaches, and even warming up. I try to keep things the same.
Q: Superstitions? Good luck charms?
A: Before the game, I like to go down to the end zone and get down on a knee and pray. Then, I’ll do a few hops and sprint down the sidelines. Then I feel ready to go, but not until that.
Q: The reason, mechanically, for the improvement you’ve made throwing the football.
A: I’ve been blessed to have great coaches around me. I try to work hard and listen to what they tell me.
Q: One thing you wish you could change about yourself, or worst habit.
A: I crack my knuckles all the time. And, my locker is an absolute mess.
Q: How often are you in a bad mood? If rarely, why aren’t you?
A: I get disappointed and frustrated with myself sometimes, but I try to get out of that mood as quick as possible because it’s never as bad as it seems and it’s never as good as it seems. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘I don’t know what my future holds but I know who holds my future.’ That is something that gives me comfort and gives me an understanding to just keep going and never let things get you too down.
Q: Compare Broncos fans with Gators fans.
A: They are both extremely passionate. They both support their teams so well, and I believe they make their teams play better with the passion and love that they support their teams with.
Q: Best piece of advice John Elway has given you?
A: He encourages me to constantly work and get better every day. He’s told me to trust myself when I’m on the field and trust what I’ve been taught.
Q: How do opposing defenses try to get in your head? Do they talk trash to you? How do you respond if and when they do?
A: I respond with a ‘God bless you.’ If I’m really upset, I might even throw out a ‘Jesus loves you.’
Q: The compliment that meant the most to you from an opponent?
A: There has been a lot of different supporters who have said some very nice things about me. I really appreciate all of them, especially those compliments that are more about character and about who I am as a person more than as a player.
Q: How do you feel about NFL players being role models?
A: Regardless of whether they accept the task or not, they are. All that it takes to be a role model is someone looking up to you. I think everyone to a certain extent is a role model because you either have your son, your daughter, a friend, a neighbor or someone looking at you and seeing how you respond to good, to bad and how you handle yourself. There are some people who are more of a role model than others, but I really believe most people have someone looking at them, and that makes them a role model. They need to understand that and try to be the best role model they can because they can affect someone’s life.
Q: Boyhood idol?
A: I looked up to Danny Wuerffel a lot because he is someone who had such great humility on and off the field. I always liked Emmitt Smith because he was a Gator, won a bunch of championships and was a great football player.
Q: Biggest influence growing up?
A: Mom and Dad.
Q: Favorite single childhood memory?
A: The day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Q: What kind of people would you hope you inspire?
A: I hope I can be a good example to a lot of people, but my biggest goal and dream is to be a great role model for the next generation. They can look at either something I’ve done or how I’ve handled something, and I hope it can encourage them to either be strong in their faith or just find something I did that can affect the next generation. When I’m old or when I’m dead and gone, I hope I was able to make the world a better place.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: Braveheart.
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Will Smith.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Jennifer Aniston.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Rascal Flatts.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Mom’s homemade tacos.