Review Day: A Tough Competitor

When the Florida Gators were down 20-17 in last Saturday’s matchup, a statistic flashed on the bottom of the screen that Tim Tebow was 0-5 in his career when behind in the second half. Initially, I was simply envious that he had been down only five times going into the second half, because that’s just not normal. But what was remarkable, even as the commentators were making the point that he had never ‘come from behind’ was that within the next few minutes, Tebow had taken the Gators down the field and scored a touchdown, given them a lead that they would never lose.

Tim Tebow is an example of a competitor. Someone who loves situations where people think he is down and out. Situations where either he makes a play or his team loses. He most likely has visualized those situations and been in them before, and he relishes opportunities like those. I think of others sports and other tough competitors, guys like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, who have an ability to flip a switch and take over a game. I believe that, on top of the amazing amounts of skill that they have, they have a wellspring of desire that is tapped into during those situations.

That wellspring of desire comes from a confidence and faith in yourself and in your teammates. The desire to ‘be the one with the ball’ in the final seconds of a game, means that you know you have the potential to succeed and you know that you can help your team. There have been countless times when superstars have had the ball in their hands for the final shot and have failed…but we don’t remember those moments. We remember the high flying, leg splitting, tongue out jumpshot to win the NBA championship. I will remember Tebow’s drive to catapult his team into the BCS National Championship Game against the Oklahoma Sooners. His desire, drive and confidence in himself has helped his team be successful.