The Tebow of physical therapy

“I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season.” – Tim Tebow

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Tim Tebow. I spent four years of my career as a reporter at The Gainesville Sun, where the University of Florida quarterback’s every move made the news. This isn’t a dis on The Sun, which is a great paper, but merely an observation about the population—when Tim Tebow sneezes, Gainesville wants to know about it. An example of Gator fans’ adoration for Tebow: A UF alum friend of mine lists Tebow as an honorary groomsman in her upcoming wedding.

Tebow is also obnoxiously sincere. According to news reports, he skipped his high school prom to work out. He once, famously, burst into tears on the field after a big loss.

Though I laughed as hard as the rest of the world when he cried on the field (I’m sorry! It was absurd!), it’s hard not to admire his work ethic and ensuing strength. His college strength-training routine is famously intense, and even in college (he plays for the Denver Broncos now), he could bench something like 480 pounds. When he runs, he doesn’t weave through linebackers; he runs over them, collecting them like bugs on a windshield. And that obnoxious sincerity, combined with his passion for the game, makes him pretty inspirational (there! I said it!).

Just imagine my face in place of his. That's what I'll look like in physical therapy.

The quote at the top of this post came after the crushing loss that caused Tebow to get a little weepy. It didn’t strike me as being especially poignant at the time, but the quote popped into my head during physical therapy this week, and sort of got stuck there. It’s firmly lodged there now, and is serving as a sort of promise to myself: I couldn’t do anything to stop a snowboarder from slamming into me and tearing my ACL, and can’t do anything to speed up my extended ski-patrol training. I can’t control how quickly my knee heals, or how soon I’ll be able to walk normally again. The one thing I can control: How hard I try.

So I promise you—and myself—one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any physical therapy patient, or ski-patrol candidate, work as hard as I will work the rest of the season.