I do not know if FOX BCS National Championship game announcer Thom Brennaman is, in some obscure way, related to Tim Tebow. I do not know if he is secretly a gigantic Florida Gators fan. I do not know if Brennaman believes Tebow is the second coming.
What I do know is this: Brennaman was so far over the top in his pro-Tebow hyperbole on Thursday that the game became darn-near unwatchable unless the volume was off.
It started in the first half, when Brennaman stated that "if you're fortunate enough to spend five minutes or 20 minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it," and continued from there. He basically repeated that line early in the second half and then, when Florida put the game away in the fourth, Brennaman let it all out.
Not only did Brennaman go on and on about what a remarkable man Tebow is, but he backed Tebow against Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks -- who said Tebow would be no better than the fourth-best QB in the Big 12 -- stating that was "probably the most ridiculous statement ever said." Even after Tebow earned a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting Oklahoma's defense, Brennaman claimed: "That might be the first thing he's ever done wrong."
All of this would have been bad enough had FOX put together a spectacular broadcast worthy of a national-title game.
Unfortunately, FOX did not. In the first half, Brennaman and his partner Charles Davis launched into an excited discussion about whether or not Oklahoma should go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Florida two. Of course, the dumbfounding duo had this discussion prior to third down, then did it again prior to the actual fourth-down play, then talked about how they didn't know what down it was.
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Of course, FOX's broadcasting missteps -- like talking repeatedly about Florida's defensive success, but failing to explain how the Gators kept blitzing AND still staying on Oklahoma's athletic receivers; or calling Chris Rainey "questionable to return" after his leg nearly ripped apart at the knee -- paled in comparison to Brennaman's personal love letter to Timmy Tebow.
It was like in middle school, when a guy likes a girl, so he tells that girl's friend instead of the girl herself (anyone? was that just me?) ... except Brennaman likes Tebow, so he told the entire freakin' world about it. We were one up-tempo musical number from the main love story of a Disney movie.
So, congratulations to Florida for another national championship. Even congratulations to Tebow himself, who again showed himself to be a great college player.
But, most of all, congrats to Thom Brennaman -- you made me long for John Madden calling one of Brett Favre's games, and that is something that I never thought possible.
BCS National Championship 2009: Thom Brennaman Forces Mute Buttons to Work originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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