Oops, He Did It Again

This Friday I will be having lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

1:00pm.

I don’t usually plan that far ahead.

But this Friday has been on my calendar for six months.

Unfortunately.

Friday is the day that I will be paying off a debt.

You see at the beginning of the NFL season I made a bet with a friend.

If my Raiders won the AFC West, he would buy me lunch.

If his Broncos won the AFC West, I would buy him lunch.

If neither team won the West.

Which seemed the most likely at the time.

We would go Dutch.

Well, we’d go Mexican, but each of us would pay.

Five games into the season, the Raiders had a winning record.

The Broncos had just one win.

Thanks to Tim Tebow that feels like a million years ago.

If you need me to recap what Tebow has done over the last 12 weeks, you’ve probably already stopped reading this blog.

The bottom line is Tebow and the rest of the Broncos will be playing a game next weekend.

While 24 other teams will not.

Including the Raiders.

Call it luck.

Call it faith.

Call it laith.

Call it fu...

Call it whatever you want, but Tim Tebow is a playoff winning quarterback.

Period.

And because of it he’s 250 geez richer.

You see Tebow gets a quarter mil for every playoff game the Broncos win.

As long as he played in most of it.

That’s on top of the eight mil he already got during the year.

So even with all the criticism he gets, don’t feel too bad for young Timmy.

But still.

Everybody but his mother thinks that he’s a joke.

Did you watch the halftime show?

The Broncos were winning 20-6.

You would’ve thought they were losing by 9000.

These ex-jock super geniuses gave Tebow exactly zero credit for leading this game.

Well Shannon Sharpe might’ve given Tebow credit, but I can’t understand a word he says.

By the end of the first half, Tebow had thrown for one touchdown.

And run for another.

The first Broncos quarterback (not named Elway) to do that in a playoff game.

But instead of praising Tebow, CBS expert Norman Esiason said...

“But can he do it again in the second half?”

Now this is the same Norman who averaged 150 passing yards in his six career playoff games.

Tebow did that in the first half of his.

In fact, he threw for 185 yards before the break.

In double fact, Tebow completed four passes of at least 30 yards in the second quarter.

That’s the first time in NFL Playoff History.

HIS-TOR-Y.

That a quarterback has done that in one quarter.

Tom Brady didn’t do it.

Peyton Manning didn’t do it.

Dan Marino didn’t do it.

And Norman Esiason certainly didn’t do it.

But instead of praising Tebow, Norman was still trying to tear him down.

And it wasn’t the first time.

Just five months ago Norman said this about Tebow:

“He can’t play.  He can’t throw.  I’m not here to insult him.”

REALLY?

“The reality is he was a great college football player... but he’s not an NFL quarterback right now.”

HOW ABOUT NOW NORMAN!

“Just because he’s God-fearing and a great person off the field... doesn’t mean his game is going to translate to the NFL.”

TELL THAT TO KURT WARNER.

“If he wanted to marry my daughter, I’d be happy as hell.  But I wouldn’t want him to be my starting quarterback.”

TOO BAD.

For a few nervous moments in the second half, it looked like Norman and the rest of the CBS crew might get their way.

But it was a fumble by Tebow’s teammate, Willis McGahee.

And not a turnover by Tebow that turned this game around.

But even with the Steelers coming back, it was Tebow’s arm that sent the Broncos fans home with a smile.

And sent the Steelers home for the rest of the winter.

A 15-yard strike, which turned into an 80-yard touchdown.

An 80-yard overtime game winning playoff touchdown. 

Tim Tebow stood toe-to-toe with the great Ben Roethlisberger Sunday afternoon in Denver.

And he beat him.

Well Tim's Broncos beat Ben’s Steelers.

But you get the point.

You can blame it on Ben’s overinflated left ankle.

Or the Steelers overinflated list of injuries.

Or the altitude.

Or the horoscope.

Or the whatever you want.

Bottom line.

Broncos-29, Steelers-23.

And this is a Raiders fan talking.

And believe you me this was a painful game to watch.

My heart said screw the Broncos.

My head said, RUN FOREST RUN.

The last thing I want to see is the Broncos win.

Especially with a team that uses more smoke and mirrors than shoulder pads.

Honestly, I’m not even sure this Broncos team could beat Alabama.

But what I do know is that they beat the Steelers.

And next week, they have a chance to beat the Patriots.

Ok, they have NO chance to beat the Patriots.

Or do they?