OK, Tim Tebow’s attempt at a baseball career actually is starting to look like a publicity stunt now.
I try not to be cynical, and I’ve always been a Tebow admirer, but doth the former Florida quarterback’s new team protest too much?
That was followed by a perfectly uninspiring thought from the new member of the Mets’ organization himself.
That a PR person found that worth taking out of whatever context Tebow was speaking in could be telling.
I'm on record saying signing Tebow was worth a shot for a team like the Reds, and the Mets are no different in that regard.
Between the lines, he appears to be one more big, athletic guy with some natural gifts who may or may not pan out, so it’s a risk worth taking if the baseball people who scouted him signed off.
But New York?
Tebow, a one-man media circus no matter what he does or where he goes, and the unrelenting glare of the Big Apple press corps seems like a potential disaster.
Of course, Tebow already experienced that as a member of the Jets, where the headlines far outnumbered the first downs he generated.
The Heisman Trophy winner might still be at worst collecting an NFL paycheck as a backup quarterback right now if not for the insane overcoverage of his pro career by ESPN and other outlets. Instead, he basically became unhireable for a league that seems always just a little too worried about image.
But maybe no one really expects Tebow to make it back to Gotham anyway, at least as a player.
In that case, hooking up with a team in the media capital of the world would actually make plenty of sense if they can facilitate connections with other companies who can help him take the next step developing his brand off the field.
Whatever that might be.