The Tebow tale still draws polarizing opinions in baseball circles. Some people root for him to chasing his dream, even if, at age 31, he’s not your typical baseball prospect. Other people roll their eyes at Tebowmania, thinking that he’s only getting a shot in baseball because of his name and popularity and that a player without this celebrity wouldn’t be given the same opportunities.
Where ever you fall on the Tebow spectrum, this is worth listening to. At Mets camp over the weekend, Tebow was asked about people not liking him. His response was something to behold — like right out of a book of inspirational quotes.
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As you can imagine, people are reacting to Tebow’s words here. The video had one million views by Sunday night, then two million by Monday morning and was near 2.5 million at the time of this post.
Whether Tebow ultimately becomes a successful baseball player in the big leagues remains to be seen. But there’s no arguing that his dedication and attitude are at an All-Star level.
Here's part of what Tebow said:
“Don’t be defined by outside sources. You go after your dreams. Succeeding or failing is not making it to the bigs or it’s not necessarily fulfilling that. It’s having to not live with regret because I didn’t try. I just feel for all the young people out there who don’t go after something because they are so afraid of failing that you are going to live with a lot more regret than you would’ve and you failed. I’m very passionate about that.
“I think the reason people don’t go after things is because how much you will be criticized. What if I fall flat on my face? So fear and doubt and all these things creep in. I just don’t believe that’s the healthiest way to live. I don’t want to have to live with fear or doubt every day, and regardless of what everybody here says about me. It doesn’t define me.”