Bigfoot Sighting in Foxboro, MA!

Well, not exactly.  Please let me explain.  Back in January of 2012 I wrote Separated at Birth 2: Tim Tebow and Bigfoot.  In that piece I posited the theory that there was some connection between then-Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and the legendary half-man, half-monster known as Bigfoot.  That claim was based mainly on the following images of the two man-like creatures striking a stunningly similar pose.  This pose had come to be known as "Tebowing" during the 2011 NFL season, and it spawned a mini-fad where people would imitate the pose in photos posted on social media sites.  Tebowing was inspired by Tebow's habit of removing his helmet,  going down on one knee and lowering his head in prayer after a particularly good play on his part.

Examples of Bigfoot and Tim Tebow "Tebowing"

There was a pretty good amount of additional supporting information presented in the piece, but I don't want to repeat the whole thing (please read the original blog to see it all).  One of the most convincing (in my opinion) bits of evidence came via the eleven photos I found online of Tebow in game action throughout his college and NFL careers where he eerily seemed to take on the form of the most famous image ever taken of Bigfoot--a still frame from the famous Patterson-Gimlin Film of 1967.

I suppose that if Bigfoot is "Tebowing" in the first example above,
then it could be said that Tim Tebow is "Bigfooting" in the second one

Well, since the time of that blog Tim Tebow has traveled an interesting, if not terribly successful, journey in his NFL career.  After his half-season as the Denver Broncos savior and miracle worker, his 2011 season came to a screeching halt when the New England Patriots dismantled the Broncos 45-10 in the AFC Divisional playoff game.  After that his future with the Broncos was in limbo until they went and signed free agent Payton Manning to be the "future" of the franchise.  A suddenly expendable Tim Tebow was dealt to the New York Jets, who supposedly had a plan for him in their playbook.  In the end that plan didn't seem too be very detailed (as Harvey Keitel said to Sylvester Stallone in "Copland": "Your plan is the plan of a boy.  You made it on the back of a matchbook, without thinking!").  Tebow spent the majority of the 2012 season in the tabloids and on the bench.  He was still a hot commodity in the media, but not so much on the football field.  In April the Jets drafted Geno Smith to join a crowded backfield at quarterback.  With something like fifteen QBs on the roster (including the lingering presence of former wunderkind Mark Sanchez) something had to give.  At the end of April the Jets finally admitted that there was no place for Tebow on the team and waived him.  He spent over a month in limbo.  No team seemed to be interested in him.  It seemed like his short and less-than-stellar career in the NFL had come to an end.  And then a funny thing happened...

From Yahoo! Sports

A few days ago Michael Silver, a writer for Y! Sports, mentioned in an article that Bill Belichick (head coach of the New England Patriots) "hates" Tim Tebow.  I'm not sure where he got this information, but apparently it wasn't from Belichick himself.  The coach found it necessary to respond to that statement and sternly denied that he hates Tebow.

Best Buds!

It seemed like that would be the end of the story...but it wasn't.  Today (June 10, 2013) it was reported that the Patriots had signed none other than...Tim Tebow!  What?!?  I don't know if this is some shrewd move by Bill Belchick, some giant mistake by Belichick or simply Bill's way of proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he does NOT in any way hate Mr. Timothy Tebow.  Whatever the reason, for better or for worse apparently Tim Tebow is now a member of the New England Patriots.  I can't say it hasn't been an interesting day to be a Patriots fan.

Teammates?

And, wouldn't you know, in the ensuing deluge of press coverage I just happened to see yet another image of Tim Tebow looking for all the world like that famous photograph of Bigfoot once again!  Heck, the photographer even went so far as to make sure there was some vegetation (hay bales?) in the foreground to make the scenery resemble Bluff Creek and the scene of the Patterson-Gimlin film!

This photo (seen on a number of websites, so I'm not sure which one to give credit for it) apparently shows Tebow arriving at the New York Jets' training facility in April, a couple weeks before his release.  What it looks like is Tebow walking out of the practice facility for the last time after being cut from the team.  While that's not the case, with that expression on Tebow's face as he walks away it might as well be.  Either way, it appears that Tim Tebow will now be bringing his traveling side-show and tent revival to New England.  For how long his tenure there lasts no one can know for sure (except possibly Bill Belichick).  All I know is that, if Tebow can stay on the roster until the 2013 season opener, and if I can finally prove that he and Bigfoot were indeed separated at birth, then Bigfoot will be suiting up for the Patriots and serving as a backup quarterback for Tom Brady.  Incredible?  Unbelievable?  Impossible?  Maybe so.  But, if you were to ask me yesterday if Bill Belichick would ever consider signing Tim Tebow, I'd probably think that someone finally proving the existence of Bigfoot would be just as likely.  Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction!

From the Patriots Pro Shop website on June 11