Dear Mr. Tebow - Full disclosure up front: While I have always been a fan, I have to admit that I was a little annoyed by all of the hype when you played at Florida.  I am a Christian, a pastor, even, and yet there seemed times when it was all a little too much. I thought the Phil. 4:13 eye-black patches were a little over the top.

“I can do all things…like play football better…through Christ who strengthens me.”  Maybe the apparent misapplication of that Scripture bothered me.

But, underneath all of the media hype, the Heisman hysteria and the Philippino mission fields I believed in what I saw. And, I still do.  My belief in you as a man, a follower of Christ and a football player has only grown.  The same is true for thousands of others.  But, the reason for this letter is that one of those thousands of others is my 8-year-old son.  He looks up to you; he wants to be like you. As a dad, I can’t imagine having a better athlete role model for him, and therein lies the MAIN reason for this letter.

You see,  Mr. Tebow (which just sounds weird since you are 15 years my junior), I’ve believed in other athletes before.  They may not have exhibited your character, but still I believed in what they did.  I believed that Roger Clemens was just that good. I believed it was hard work and God-given talent that set him apart. Now I know it was that plus PEDs, a lot of PEDs.  I believed that A. Rod. was just better than everyone. After all, he always looked the same. He was intensely focused, was the kind to take extra batting practice and since high school, he stood above the crowd. Sure, he was eccentric, but I admired his play on the field; “maybe the best ever,” I thought.  It was an illusion; not all of it, of course, but too much of it.  I wanted so bad to believe in Mark McGuire too.  I believed that Barry Bonds…oh, never mind, I always knew he was a juice-head.   I believed in Tiger. I know, I know…his attitude stunk at times.  He cussed; he slammed his clubs; he pouted. But, I wanted him to win because there is something about a person chasing history and a competitor at the top of his game who constantly rises to the challenge. Awe-inspiring.  Then, we found out that Tiger wasn’t just sort of an edgy, whiny, prima donna; he was a serial adulterer, concerned about no one but himself. Others call him much worse; I’ll leave it at that but there was no TW Nike gear for my kiddos after that mess.  I believed in Lance Armstrong, yet strong evidence suggests those seven titles were artificially boosted.  Marion Jones, another “great” athlete who captured our imaginations on the back of drug-enhanced performances. On and on and on and on….and on, the list goes.

Mr. Tebow, I know you are not perfect.  You will make mistakes. You are not Jesus (this comes as no shock to you, I know).  I know nothing you do or don’t do can damage the Kingdom of God beyond what it can bear. But, please, continue to do it the right way.  Don’t take a short cut; when people continue to try every conceivable (and some unconceivable) way to dimish you as a player and person, don’t cave. You’ve shown us the right way. Press on. Continue fighting the good fight.  I know you don’t need me to tell you this, but I need to say it for me, for my son and daughters and for everyone else out there buying a Tebow jersey on Amazon.com right now.  Stay true; stay clean; stay humble, stay deeply dependent on Jesus and yes, stay committed to competing ferociously and winning football games.

Sincerely yours,

Brian Kruckenberg and all the parents out there looking for a celebrity athlete we can point to and say “son/daughter, do it that way.”