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Tim Tebow brought football, faith and food to Friday’s Good Morning America.
The former NFL star, who’s now an analyst with ESPN, was initially brought out to talk about the Super Bowl alongside 49ers great Steve Young.
Tebow shared his thoughts about the importance of leadership on each team, whether quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson will be able to handle the cold weather and what the game will come down to, which, in his opinion, will be how well the Broncos’ front seven stops the Seahawks’ running game.
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Although Tebow’s only played in two NFL playoff games, both during his tenure with the Broncos and one of which was a blowout loss, he seemed to have some insights into the keys to a Super Bowl win.
GMA also debuted Tebow’s Super Bowl T-Mobile ad and talked to him about filming the commercial, during which he displayed some of his trademark enthusiasm.
“It was so much fun. Everyone at T-Mobile was awesome,” the GMA guest-host said. “All those different vignettes were just awesome and to be able to laugh the whole time for two days in a row — it was priceless.”
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When asked by co-host Lara Spencer whether he was hesitant to play a rock star in the ad, suggesting that it doesn’t really fit with his clean-cut Christian image, Tebow said he was willing to do something different.
“I was really open,” he said. “You try to change it up a bit, go outside your comfort zone, show a different side.”
Speaking of Tebow’s religious beliefs, although the former Broncos, Jets and Patriots QB didn’t use the word “God” once during the two-hour broadcast, he talked about his faith during a sit-down with Robin Roberts in the 8 o’clock hour, revealing the way it shapes his approach to life.
“It helps in every aspect of your life, the hope that it gives you, the drive that it gives you, the purpose that it gives you every single day,” he said. “In a situation like this [not having an NFL contract], you don’t know what the future holds, but you know who holds your future and that gives you hope and peace every day. No matter what happens.”
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Tebow, who said it’s “of course” still his dream to play in the NFL, revealed that he’s been working on his mechanics, trying to answer critics who don’t think he has the skills to play quarterback in the NFL. “We went back to the beginning. We worked on the basics,” he said. “We did thousands and thousands and thousands of reps so we felt great with it. I feel great and I’m looking for the opportunity to show that as well.”
Tebow also took part in a cook-off with Joe Montana, with Emeril Lagasse judging the dishes prepared by the two former NFL QBs in Times Square toward the end of Friday’s show.
Tebow prepared a game-day filet with dill sauce, zesty Italian, Worcester sauce and ground pepper, defending his dish as “straight protein, lean.”
Montana, meanwhile, made dry-rub chicken wings.
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Tebow also urged Lagasse not to be biased even though Montana’s won Super Bowls, but the celebrity chef still thought Montana made the tastier dish.
Tebow, who made his debut as an analyst during the BCS championship, will also work on ESPN’s new SEC Network in the fall, and he said he’s looking forward to being able to give people an in-depth look at what it’s like to play in the SEC.”
Tebow also talked about his eponymous foundation, which is in 16 different countries, including the Philippines, where they’re helping with relief efforts. He even brought a teenage girl who battled cancer, which is now in remission, whom he got to know through the foundation.
“She’s been such an inspiration and to have her here and have her mother here is exciting because she’s not just someone who fought it, she’s someone who beat cancer,” Tebow said.
Roberts noted twice that she wanted to clone Tebow and her fellow GMA hosts also seemed excited to have the star athlete in their studio and with them outside.
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