Tim Tebow is shining in the NFL and hopes to get Denver into the Playoffs.
MANILA, Philippines – Tim Tebow, currently among the most popular players in American football, is largely unknown in the Philippines and the metropolitan city of his birth.
The 24-year-old Tebow, superstar quarterback of the Denver Broncos, was born in Makati City.
“Tee-bone?” said Makati government official Mila Gonzalez in a telephone conversation with The Post Game.com. “How do you spell that?”
Tebow was born on August 14, 1987 to American parents who were serving as Christian Baptist missionaries in the Philippines at the time.
He is especially well-known for fourth-quarter scoring drives that result, week after week, in miraculous come-from-behind victories for the Broncos.
Since Tebow took over the starting quarterback position, the team has racked up 7 wins and just 1 loss.
Gonzalez admitted to The Post Game.com that nobody at the Makati City Hall recognized Tebow’s name.
“No one here has heard of him,” said Gonzalez. “Is he a current player? “
“Of course it is exciting for us now you have told us about this, and we will look it up. If someone from our city is successful it is something for us to celebrate. I am sure once people begin to realize he is from Makati they will start to follow him in his sporting endeavors,” she added.
Tebow appeared in Nike’s “Boom” television advertisement with Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao last year.
Americans not only marvel Tebow for his exploits in the field, but also admire him for his humble demeanor and his religious devotion, which they say makes him an ideal role model for youngsters.
His parents nearly lost him when doctors advised his mother, Pamela Elaine, to undergo abortion after she suffered a life-threatening infection during pregnancy.
His mother refused to terminate her pregnancy while carrying “Timmy.”
She now is one of America’s most vocal pro-life advocates. – With a report from Agence France-Presse
