NFL playoffs 2012: With Broncos’ Tim Tebow, ‘everything you see is true’

Denver — Finding Tim Tebow — really finding Tim Tebow — isn’t as easy as it may seem.

Nathan Whitaker discovered that last year when he was dispatched to the Tebow home. Whitaker signed on to help the Denver Broncos’ lightning rod of a quarterback write his autobiography, the eventual New York Times bestseller “Through My Eyes.” ¶ “You hold your breath when you take an assignment like this and say, ‘I hope I’m not writing about a guy who’s a scalawag,’ ” Whitaker said. ¶ After a long day of initial interviews, Whitaker and the Tebow family — including father Bob and brothers Robby and Peter — and a couple of friends sat around the dining table, discussing what to do next. It wasn’t long before everyone grabbed a flashlight and an impromptu game of hide-and-seek broke out. Among adults. In the pitch dark. ¶ “It was like a sleepover almost. ‘What do you guys want to do now?’ It was that type of atmosphere,” Whitaker said. “They were just having fun. That’s part of why it was so refreshing to be around him.”

Video

Tim Tebow found Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in overtime, as Denver stunned Pittsburgh 29-23 Sunday in an AFC wild-card game. Tebow passed for 316 yards on only ten completions. (Jan. 8)

More on this Story

• Broncos' Tebow is the real thing
• Opinion: Tebow, Big Ben, your evangelical QBs
• In era of offense, Steelers' defense still rules
• Second-half kick powers Saints

View all Items in this Story

• In a playoff first, Texans roll to victory
• Photos: NFL postseason heats up
• Postseason schedule and results

At one point, Whitaker’s wife sent a text message. “Not now,” he wrote back. He called later to explain: “Sorry, I was hiding in the shower and the whole room lit up when my phone buzzed.”

“What? You were in Tim’s shower?

“No, no, no,” Whitaker explained. “I was in Peter’s shower.”

Hiding in plain sight

Tebow is not hiding. His public persona might appear more like a pencil sketch than an oil painting, but that’s not necessarily Tebow’s doing. In fact, he probably couldn’t disguise his feelings if he tried. Those who know him say the 24-year-old Tebow is the same behind closed doors as he is in front of cameras.

“Everything you see is true,” said Urban Meyer, his coach at the University of Florida.

On Friday, the Broncos had just finished their final practice before Sunday’s playoff game. For Tebow, it will be another pressure-packed affair where every errant throw and each impressive run will inspire a definitive verdict from the football world.

Tebow walked toward the shower, wearing just a white towel around his waist, and his teammates accused the pious player of using a curse word during practice. They were joking, but it wasn’t clear if Tebow understood.

“I promise,” he said, lifting his arms incredulously, “I did not say that!”

That’s not how Tebow was raised, not the image he tries to project and not the person he is. Born in the Philippines and raised in Jacksonville, Fla., Tebow grew up on a farm, the youngest of five. He had no television at home, gave up soft drinks at a young age, memorized Bible verses and played every sport possible.

An incredible talent, it wasn’t until this season — his second in the NFL — that his celebrity really surpassed his skills. He’s more like a young pop star than anything the NFL has seen in many years. While the marketing image of iconic athletes usually is carefully crafted, put before focus groups and treated like a brand, Tebow’s grew organically.

This season he had the league’s second-best selling jersey and 27th-best passer rating. According to Florida’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, from 2000 to 2007, no children born in his home state were given the first name “Tebow.” Since 2008, there have been eight.