14 years ago, [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag] delivered one of the most powerful speeches in college football history.
The Florida Gators had just come off a loss to Ole Miss after entering the game as the favorite by three touchdowns, and everyone knew it would take perfection to claim a national championship. Tebow, the unquestioned leader of the team, took it upon himself to apologize. He felt he had done something wrong (not converting a fourth-and-1 that ultimately cost UF the game), and he knew that it was on him to inspire the team.
And, boy, did he inspire them.
Affectionately known today as “The Promise” speech, Tebow used just over 30 seconds after the media finished its questions to deliver some of the most passionate words you’ll ever hear from an athlete.
“I just want to say one thing to the fans and everybody in Gator Nation. I’m sorry. Extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal. It’s something Florida’s never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this.
“You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season, and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season. You’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.”
The Gators won the remaining eight games of the regular season by nearly 300 combined points and finished the regular season ranked No. 2. Urban Meyer and Tebow then led the Gators to an SEC Championship over No. 1 Alabama and a national title over No. 1 Oklahoma.
It’s very rare that athletes find success after calling their shot, especially on a stage as big as the national championship. Following the Week 4 loss to Ole Miss, Florida dropped to No. 12 in the polls. It took a dominant effort to get them back to No. 2, and they had to beat the top-ranked team in the country twice. It’s the stuff of legends.
Tebow’s legendary status can’t be denied; not just at Florida, but throughout all of college football. He defined what it meant to be a quarterback in the SEC, and there hasn’t been a Gator since with the same kind of intangibles Tebow had. A leader in every sense of the word, and “The Promise” was his defining moment.
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