When God-fearing Tim Tebow and Golden Boy Tom Brady [stats] square off in what experts predict will be a ratings-busting rematch of December’s Patriots [team stats] beatdown of the Broncos, we’ll see more than Tebow’s scrambling leather helmet-era quarterback vs. Brady’s disciplined, omniscient power passing.
We’re talking a matchup between two sports deities that could dwarf the whopping 42 million who watched the Broncos’ heart-stopping overtime win over bad-boy Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers Sunday night.
“It’s Jesus vs. the Prophet,” said Henry Schafer of the celebrity-pollster firm Marketing Evaluations, referring to Brady’s Dec. 18 postgame prophecy that the two would meet again. “Given Brady’s success and Tebow’s attraction right now, coming from a lot of different angles, I would not be surprised if this becomes the highest-ever rated playoff game.”
Tom and Tim rank among the most popular, polarizing and appealing players in the game. Marketing Evaluations’ Q rating, which measures the public’s awareness and opinion of celebrities, lists Tebow as the NFL’s sixth-most-appealing player, and Brady as the 13th.
“Two out of three Americans age 6 years and older knew who Tom Brady was, and two out of five knew who Tim Tebow was,” Schafer said. “That’s crazy. That’s telling me (Tebow) is more of a national personality than anybody thought, even before the season started.”
What’s more, that measure was taken in September, before backup QB Tebow stepped up and turned his 1-4 Broncos into the NFL’s 8-8 comeback kids, very publicly professing love for Christ and admiration of his teammates the whole way through. Just yesterday, ESPN Sports ran a poll showing Tebow is American’s favorite active pro athlete, ahead of Brady in fifth place.
Indeed, a December report from Dallas-based The Marketing Arm says Tebow has just a shade less influence than Lady Gaga, and more than Tom Hanks. And he’s head-and-shoulders above Brady, who has about as much pull as Bruce Willis and Robert Downey Jr.
“You have two interesting guys here,” said Darin David, a Marketing Arm account director. “As great as Brady has been — there’s probably been nobody better — there’s part of the country where they’ve seen him as a pretty boy. “What Tebow gained last week was he was able to pull off what a lot of people didn’t think was possible. Here’s another opportunity for him.”