The New York Mets have given Tim Tebow an opportunity to pursue a career in professional baseball, but some believe the former Florida Gators star would still be kicking around the NFL if he was willing to play a position other than quarterback. It doesn’t really matter, because Tebow simply had no desire to do it.
In an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” Thursday, Tebow said he only wanted to play football if he was calling plays and throwing passes.
“For me it’s always about pursuing what’s in your heart, what you love, what you’re passionate about. I love the game of football, but what I really love doing is playing the quarterback position,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good opportunities to play other positions but that just wasn’t in my heart. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. If I was going to make a change, I would rather make a change to baseball to pursue it because I love it.”
Many have been critical of Tebow for his unwillingness to change positions, but Tebow said those people don’t get to decide what he does with his life.
“We’re in a country where we get to pursue what we love,” he added. “I don’t have to do what maybe a lot of other people want me to do. I get to pursue what I want to do and what I have a love for and a passion for. The two greatest things I loved in sports since I was a little boy were hitting a baseball and playing the quarterback position.”
At first it was unclear if Tebow ever had any actual offers to play a different position in the NFL, but one former GM recently removed all doubt.
Will Tebow ever make it to the majors? Probably not, even though he did look better at his workout than many anticipated (videos here). But, again, the choice was his own. Having the opportunity to change positions wasn’t enough to inspire Tebow to continue his NFL career.
