Anyone who has watched ESPN the past two days may have saw Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow not only granting ESPN reporter Erin Andrews an interview during a basketball game, but giving the ESPN College Gameday crew a "pep talk" as they prepared for their telecast. It's hard to argue against Tebow's overall talent, and his statistics during the 2007 season made him a logical selection for the Heisman Trophy. However, is ESPN taking advantage of the popularity of Tebow (a student-athlete) to gain a ratings bump? Let's examine the situation further...

Make no mistake, the media love athletes who are open and willing to grant an interview at anytime. Brett Favre, Jeremy Roenick and Shaquille O Neal are just some examples of media friendly athletes who have used their positive "Q" media scores to advance their publicity. The key to those athletes is the word professional. Tebow is a college athlete who has been made larger than life in large part due to major media outlets like ESPN. Tebow is what media folks call a "good story", with a solid foundation built around the three "F's", family, faith, and football. From all accounts, he is a solid young man who has been blessed with a talent for football that few have ever realized.

Tebow has several similarities with former Notre Dame and Washington Redskin quarterback Joe Theismann. While at Notre Dame, Theismann saw his name pronunciation go from THEEZ-man to rhyme with Heisman. While the name pronunciation came from students at Notre Dame, the “new” name was able to stick thanks in large part to the media. Theisman also broadcast Super Bowl XIX for ABC while still an active player with the Redskins. After his career ended with a broken leg, Theismann entered the broadcast booth for good and spent 20 seasons in the booth on ESPN's NFL broadcast. Theismann cashed in his media friendliness for his life after football, becoming a member himself.

Tebow appears like a bright young man and he may very well win another Heisman Trophy in 2008. However, what would happen if he struggles next season and doesn't have huge numbers like in 2007? The same people who are proclaiming him as the second coming may be asking "What is wrong?" Let's hope Tebow's story ends happily, both with the media and in football. College athletes are not professionals, but the media will treat Tebow as one if he continues to let them gain as much access as they have had in his early career. If for some reason Tebow’s career doesn’t pan out, he should shove most of the blame into the face of those who proclaimed him the second coming. Here’s hoping Tebow pulls a Theismann (minus the broken leg of course).

College Football tim tebow, florida, joe theismann, notre dame, washington redskins, espn, erin andrews, heisman trophy, abc, super bowl, college gameday