Tebow 3:16

ESPN radio host Colon Cowherd is notorious for being anti-fan. He resents when fans say they can run the team better than the owners and general managers. His point is that fans are too passionate and you never make good decisions in the heat of passion.

As a sports fan I was resentful of him. How dare he say that I care about my team too much and am too emotionally invested to make reasonable decisions? Then I had a moment of awakening. A moment that opened my eyes and made me realize Cowherd is right. A moment that made me lose faith in my fellow sports fans.

I read the comments section in an online article.

I know, I know. Huge mistake on my part. I would much rather have my head in the sand and think all sports fans are reasonable human beings. They are far from it. Overlooking the unnecessary profanity and homophobic comments, they still have ridiculous sports opinions. How did I not see that Cowherd was so right?

A group of Jacksonville Jaguars fans will meet at the stadium parking lot at 3:16 PM today in an effort to convince the team to sign free agent quarterback Tim Tebow. This is one of the extremely rare cases where the fans are right.

Tebow is far from a competent quarterback. He actually has worse passing numbers than both of the Jags current quarterbacks. But this is beyond football.

The Jaguars are a joke. I would fear hate emails coming from that statement but there are no Jags fans so I’m good. They have scored 9 offensive points in the first two games of the season. By far the worst in the league. Blaine Gabbert is a lame duck quarterback who is likely starting in the NFL for the final time in his life. Nobody goes to the games, nobody knows who their coach is off the top of their head, and nobody is excited to watch the Jags play. Things have gotten so bad that their local CBS affiliate apologized for having to air the Jaguars vs. Raiders game yesterday instead of the Giants and Broncos game. Never a good sign when a network is apologizing for putting you on television.

Despite Tebow being a bad quarterback, he is one of the most polarizing players in the NFL. Media would flock to Jacksonville, their TV ratings would skyrocket, their ticket sales would increase, and jersey sales would go through the roof. Tebow is from Ponte Vedra, Florida, just 24 miles from Jacksonville. They would go from one of the lowest attendance teams in the league to having constant sellout crowds.

This is significant because the league keeps teasing the possibility of a current NFL franchise moving to Los Angeles. With their low attendance and low fan support, the Jags are a prime candidate for moving to LA.

Jags owner Shahid Kahn may want to move the team to LA. A move would certainly guarantee more money for him in the long run and put him in the history books. But if there is any desire to stay in Jacksonville, signing Tebow is a necessary evil.

“But Michael, Tebow is a dreadful quarterback. There is no way the Jags become a contender with him under center.” You’re absolutely right sir or madam. The Jags don’t need to become a contender to turn a profit and be watchable. Let’s face it, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning could quarterback the Jags and they would still miss the playoffs. But you would watch more Jags games on TV. Fans would buy tickets to go see him play.

Besides, things cannot get any worse for the Jags. They were 2:53 away from becoming the first team since 2006 to not score a touchdown in their first two games. Maurice Jones-Drew was one of the best running backs in the NFL once upon a time. He only has 72 yards in his first two games in 2013.

Historically, signing a mobile quarterback increases the production of the running backs. The most recent example is in 2012 with Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris. Signing Tebow could open up defenses for Jones-Drew and Justin Forsett. Who cares that Tebow can’t pass? I dare a Jags fan to tell me they will miss Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert with a straight face.

This group meeting to encourage the team to sign Tebow may be a minority, but a loud one. Much like supporters of Ron Paul or fans of Archer. If the Jags fans want their team to stay in Jacksonville, they better consider becoming a part of that vocal minority.