Tim Tebow has captured the hearts of millions once again with his charismatic attitude and religious zeal. Tebow recently resurrected the season of the Denver Broncos who had a 1-4 record before he took over. After the switch he lead the team to the playoffs with an 8-5 record as quarterback that included a six-game winning streak. Tebow originally gained fame as the Heisman trophy quarterback who led Florida to two national championships. Besides the athletic accolades garnered he was further known for being a devout Christian, who had Bible verses written on his eye black.  Captivating the American spirit in all of us, Tebow became a mainstay on sports networks and even the general media.  His games were some of the highest rated this season, and along the way the term “Tebowing” was coined. This simply means to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.  Even his miraculous 80-yard overtime touchdown pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card game lead to a sports record 9,420 Tweets per second. I am a huge Tebow fan due to his relentless belief in himself and humanity, and the fact he is not embarrassed to showcase his faith. I admire Tebow for not promoting himself for egotistical purposes, and showing there is more to life than sports. Tebowmania made me think there really are sports role models out there, but then I came to the conclusion that professional athletes should not be counted on as role models. I find it a shame that everyone needs to go bonkers over Tebow since what he is doing is the right thing anyways.  This also shows how pathetic sports athletes are as role models. It is ironic how fans tout the whole idea of doing the right thing yet they let their kids run around wearing Santonio Holmes, and Ndamukong Suh jerseys. Holmes was benched for getting into an argument with teammates in the final New York Jets game, while Suh of the Detroit Lions infamously stomped on a defenseless player during the Thanksgiving game. Like clockwork, these occurrences receive criticism, and then are forgotten in a day. These are one of many examples of poor role modeling in the NFL just this season. What I do find too bad is that our culture accepts them as figures to look up to. We should not expect anything from spoiled athletes. They give our young athletes a terrible attitude and a lack of respect for the game. Professional athletes should go play their games and play nice once awhile, because when they mess up a lot of young children get disappointed and countless adults just view them as knuckleheads who happen to be good at sports. I believe Tebow can be counted as a role model, because he is a rare case. People should not get their hopes up for more athletes to come though, but we should all be happy a good guy is finally getting all the attention he deserves.      To contact The Ionian’s Christopher Sponn, e-mail him at [email protected]