For the past two weeks, it’s been a point of speculation throughout the football world:
Tim Tebow’s Willis Reed Moment
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Will Tim Tebow beat the odds and play at LSU?
And while all signs point to yes, at this point, there’s still been enough mystery out there to keep everyone buzzing. CBS’ Tim Brando, for one, wondered earlier whether tonight, “Tim Tebow might have his Willis Reed moment?”
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And without singling out Brando, let’s break that down, because it’s indicative of a sentiment that’s as pervasive as it is idiotic. Willis Reed, for those not versed in basketball history, was a Center for the New York Knicks that made a triumphant return from injury to help the Knicks win game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
↵But here’s the difference: Reed had a knee injury, and was returning to play basketball. Tebow, on the other hand, will be playing football tonight, the most violent game this side of Australian Rugby, and has an injury not to a harmless appendage like a knee or his throwing shoulder, but to his brain, only the most essential—and complex—organ of the human anatomy.
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SBN’s Spencer Hall made this point almost two weeks ago, but on the brink of tonight’s matchup it bears repeating. Despite the swirling “warrior” rhetoric and inane parallels to situations like Willis Reed, this is NOT a normal injury. Can he play? Maybe. Should he? Probably not.
↵Concussions are tricky, and while Tebow will likely be lionized for his “courage” and “toughness” in advance of tonight’s game and in its aftermath, keep in mind: it’s quite likely that this is dangerous, and while this decision may make for some fantastic sports rhetoric, it comes at the expense of reason.
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