With Time magazine set to announce its Person of the Year this week, we asked Yahoo! Voices contributors for their picks.
COMMENTARY | The Person of the Year award is designed to go to someone who has had an impact on people’s lives during the year. With this idea in mind, my choice for the Person of the Year award would have to go to Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow.
While NFL athletes are not normally even in the running for this award, we have never had a player that has sparked so much controversy, positive inspiration and fad-prompting as Tim Tebow has done during this NFL season.
When he became the starting QB for the Broncos for the game against Miami and led the team to a miracle comeback win, the talking began. Critics tore apart his play and said he would never make it in the NFL. But Tebow and his faith in God made him believe he could do it. It is that belief that has led him to comeback wins week after week in what can best be described as a miracle.
In that same game, Tebow got down on one knee to thank God for the win. This move, now called Tebowing, sparked his fans to begin Tebowing all over the world. A website was created and went viral within days. Now, according to the Global Language Monitor, Tebowing is now an official word in the English language.
Tebow has been able to inspire the underdog Denver Broncos to believe they can win and the team has come together to bring those wins about. But it is not just about football when it comes to Tebow.
His Tim Tebow Foundation has partnered with Cure International to build a hospital in the Philippines for children. Children who suffer from conditions like club foot which are easily treated with surgery will soon have access to medical care.
In times where athletes are usually in the spotlight for poor choices and bad behavior, Tebow is making it for his motivation of others and helping those in need. He is giving hope not only to his team but to his fans as well. In this respect, he deserves a Person of the Year award, or at the very least, an Athlete of the Year award.