Tebow's 'Promise' ranks among top 25 football moments of 21st century
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The past 25 years have been a wild rollercoaster ride for the Florida football program. While there were many ups and downs throughout, the peaks were certainly worth some of the valleys.
The Gators entered the new millennium with the legendary Steve Spurrier at the helm, while athletic director Jeremy Foley was just starting to hit his stride. However, the Head Ball Coach sought greener pastures in the NFL, which led to the tumultuous Ron Zook era, followed by the stratospheric Urban Meyer epoch.
The Orange and Blue brought home not one but two national championships during Meyer's tenure, but it was the second title that truly brought the drama to the gridiron. It began with a promise from 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and ended with a crown.
ESPN's David Hale recently ranked his top 25 "most college football moments" of the 21st century, with Tebow's "The Promise" speech coming in at No. 8.
Looking back on Tim Tebow's 'The Promise' speech
"College football's history is littered with epic speeches often immortalized in films such as 'Rudy' and 'Knute Rockne, All-American,' but their veracity was always considered questionable, at best. Fans remember the dramatized versions, not the real thing," Hale begins.
"In 2008, Tim Tebow delivered the real thing.
"Florida was a three-touchdown favorite against Ole Miss in late September, but the Rebels pulled off the upset 31-30. Afterward, Tebow, who had thrown for 319 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in the game, apologized for the performance and made a promise to the fans that no one would play harder, push harder or drive a team harder than he would the rest of the way," he continues.
"True to his word, Tebow led Florida to 10 straight wins — all by double digits — including a BCS national championship following the speech, which is now immortalized on a statue outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
"If you weren't a Florida fan, Tebow's all-American kid approach could be grating. For Gators fans who celebrated that 2008 title, there may have been no more compelling moment in college football history," Hale concludes.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Tebow's 'Promise' ranks among top college football moments of 2000s
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