Remembering "The Promise"

On September 27, 2008, the Florida Gators incurred one of Tebow’s most devastating losses in his football career when Ole Miss defeated Florida by one point.  After the 31 -30 loss, Tebow addressed the media with the kind of passion and words that will never be forgotten.  It was an emotional off-the-cuff speech that came straight from the heart that came to be known as his “The Promise” speech.  I have no doubt that it will ultimately go down in history as one of the most inspirational speeches given by an athlete and will join the ranks of inspirational quotes such as those by the great Vince Lombardi.

The Promise engraved in steel at the University of Florida

On the surface, most people see it as a motivational speech about determination and work ethics, which it partly is, but there’s much more to it than meets the eye.  Character is an internal quality, and this speech definitely exemplifies character and has an internal message worth looking into. 

I will attempt to break the speech down into segments and delve into each segment in search of deeper meanings and lessons that can inspire people in more ways outside the realm of athletics.

THE PROMISE:

“To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation, I’m sorry.”

First and foremost, he is addressing the “fans” and “everybody in Gator Nation.”  It is a testament to his unselfishness as a player and clearly tells people that he is playing for others, the key word being “others.”  We can all use a little more emphasis on "others" throughout the daily course of our lives.  Mainstream society wants us to focus on ourselves, our success and our own happiness.  When we chose to do something for others, the world becomes a better place.

Secondly, he says “sorry.”  It’s an apology.  He doesn’t hold anyone else responsible for their loss.  He holds himself accountable.  Apologizing is one of the most difficult things to do.  Some people go through their entire lives knowing they should have apologized for something they did, but never had the strength to swallow their ego and pride to do it.  There is a strong lesson in accountability and humility here.

“We were hoping for an undefeated season.  That was my goal, something Florida has never done here.”

We all have hopes in life that for whatever reason doesn’t materialize, but his doesn’t mean we should stop hoping.  Instead, we should take a closer look at the things we hope for because with every door that is closed in our lives, another one is opened.  In this case, the door of an undefeated season was shut and a door that turned out to have more impact on the team and others was opened.

Tim made it a personal goal of his to do something that was never done at the University of Florida.  Does this mean that everyone should strive to make such high goals in their lives?  Certainly not, but I’m sure he would agree that we should strive to be the person God intends us to be.  This should be the case especially if your life is plagued with misfortune, violence, abuse and vices.  Be the first in your family, school, company or whatnot to do something special with your life that will help others become better people. 

“I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this.”

Aha. Here it is. The operative word being “promise.”   All too often promises are made and promises are broken.  Promise is what grows for the seed of integrity.  A promise is only as good as the integrity is germinates from.  If this word was uttered out from the mouth of anyone else of questionable integrity, the promise would hold little value.  But when it comes out of the mouth of someone who lives a life and basis their life on integrity and character, then its value is priceless.  How are we doing with our promises in life?  How do we teach our children about promises?  Yes, a promise is a promise and it’s up to us to give its value.

The great inspirational guru, Stephen Covey, once said “It’s not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurt us.”  In essence, our responses to what happens to us determine whether we are hurt from it or benefit from it.  Bad things happen to everyone.  We can react to these things by furthering ourselves from the good we are intended to become or commit ourselves in ways that will grow and develop ourselves to become a better person.

“You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season.  You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season”

Here Tim puts everything on himself because he understands that the only thing he can control is his actions.  This is a lesson every child and adult needs to remember when they are surrounded with uncontrollable negative things in their lives.

“You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.”

This is where his speech really gets interesting.  It’s one thing to promise things that you can do on your own behalf, but it’s much different when you promise something on the behalf of others such as an entire team.  I could only imagine what his teammates and coaches were thinking when he said this on national television.

I’ve heard the word “covenant” used on several occasions to describe this speech.  When I think about this part of the speech, I get a sense that it truly is more of a covenant than a promise.  Generally speaking, a promise is unilateral and involves one party promising something to another, whose role is usually passive.  The covenant, however, is bilateral involving two (or more) active parties who have obligations and responsibilities toward each other.

In a biblical context, God promised to do things like never unleashing the kind of flood that Noah experienced, but when he decided to enter into relationships with mankind – he made covenants.

Please, before any of you get the wrong idea – I am in NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM trying to equate Tebow to God or raise him to some deity status.  That would be ridiculous.  I only use the biblical examples to demonstrate that a covenant much more special than a promise.  When Tim mentions his teammates here, he more or less includes them into some sort of man-made covenant, that by the way, was eventually fulfilled.

“God Bless.”

These are the words he ends every interview with.  Nowadays he uses GB² (God Bless-Go Broncos) in his written communications.  What can I say?  He saves the best for last.  God is what makes him who he is, and he’s not afraid to proclaim it.  For those of you, who regularly pray before meals at home, think about this next time you feel too embarrassed to pray before a meal at a restaurant.

The outcome of this speech resulted with the Gators defeating every team in their path that year as well as winning the National Championship.  That was the immediate outcome.  The historical outcome is still unfolding before our eyes, and in ways not limited to football.  It helped solidify the platform he stands on, and someday history will speak of the many people who were inspired to do great things for others after being inspired by The Promise.