Tim Tebow makes a statement
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
January 1, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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Tonight I watched the Sugar Bowl game in its entirety on FOX, a one-sided destruction of previously unbeaten Cincinnati by the Florida Gators. Last year I complained about the inordinate amount of shots shown of the respective schools involved, which prompted angry e-mails to me from people who didn't care for my take on marching band cutaway shots.
And, so I can avoid another round of angry feedback (and have to avoid the temptation to respond with a harshly-worded response like "Stick your trombone up your ass"), let me say that there is certainly a place for marching bands to be highlighted in a college sports broadcast. It's part of what makes college football special, a musical element that can set the tone of a moment, fire up a fan base, and even get the players themselves pumped up. But the heavy use of band shots can become annoying after a while; I'm not alone on this line of thought.
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Joe Haden may be the first cornerback drafted in 2010. (Icon SMI)
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FOX, in their final year with the BCS (thankfully), tonight seemed to pull out all the stops with the cutaways of the bands during the Sugar Bowl. My girlfriend Stacy had to put up with me sarcastically saying, "Oh, good, another band cutaway shot" in a Norm MacDonald-esque voice every time the technical director punched up a shot of members of the bands, which seemingly happened after nearly every play. Nevermind that there were 72,000+ people packed into the Superdome, many who travelled from great distances to New Orleans, who could have been highlighted much more effectively.
Of course, FOX is also a network that inexplicably peppers its NFL broadcasts with an animated robot doing non-sensical things like playing a guitar or dancing, so I suppose it could be worse. But it was quite the contrast from the coverage earlier today by ABC/ESPN with the Rose Bowl, which was a very strong broadcast from people who broadcast college football on a regular basis. The difference was striking, particularly to someone like me with a background in television sports production.
Tim Tebow put on a show for the ages in the Sugar Bowl, posting an impressive stat line even by his usual standards: 31-for-35, 482 yards passing for 3 TDs with no interceptions and 51 yards rushing on 14 carries for a fourth touchdown. I'm well aware that the hero worship bestowed upon Tebow is very off-putting, and it's no secret that Cincinnati has had a less-than-stellar defense this season. But, any way you slice it, Tebow came through on the big stage once again, and he almost for sure boosted his draft stock with his impressive performance.
Not to be overlooked in the Tebow show is how well Florida cornerback Joe Haden played. If that was his final game with the Gators, he picked a good time to go out on top. Haden will likely be the top cornerback drafted this year if he passes on his final year of eligibility at Florida to cast his lot in the NFL.
After the game, Haden said that he had already made his decision about what he would do for 2010 but that he didn't want to announce it yet. Odds are that he'll be turning pro, and with the compensation he'll likely receive for doing so there is no blaming him if that's the decision he makes. He's ready.
