Greatest Minor League Promotion Ever Ruined By Wrath Of Tebow

The Fort Myers Miracle planned to pay homage to that miracle-maker Tim Tebow tonight, but what happened instead? Try an approaching tornado, an aborted circumcision, and a cease-and-desist letter from UF. God does not take kindly to your mockery.

Realizing that anything can be successful and make millions of dollars if you just attach Tebow's name to it, the Miracle, a Twins single-A affiliate, had quite a night of reverent revelry planned for us all:

•Promise rings given out to all fans. •Coaches getting out of jams by asking themselves "What would Tim Tebow do?" •A jump-pass to the catcher as the ceremonial first pitch. •A mock circumcision celebrating his missionary work. •A local construction worker named Timothy Tebo attempting to walk on water.

I am not making any of these things up.

But we were deprived of much of the fun by that old 1-2 punch of threatened litigation and acts of God. First the circumcision was nixed due to questions of taste. Then Florida sent a letter to the team putting a kibosh on any Tebow references:

Under NCAA rules it is not permissible to use the name or picture of a student-athlete in the promotion of a commercial product or service," the e-mail from Jamie McCloskey, UF senior associate athletic director said. "This would include the promotion and marketing of What Would Tim Tebow Do? Night."

So the promotion was changed to "Would Would T.T. Do?" Doesn't have the same ring, but it gets the job done. Still, Someone was not too happy with the shots at His second begotten son.

A funnel cloud could be seen with the naked eye, prompting some fans to question whether or not the big man upstairs was sending a warning to the Miracle for mocking Tebow, who is often referred to by Florida football fans as "The Chosen One."

Andrew Wynot, a Florida fan who attended his first Miracle game because of the promotion, said he didn't buy the speculation, saying that Tebow would never use destruction as a form of vengeance.

"I think Tim Tebow is a fan of anything related to getting his name out there," Wynot said. "I don't think Tim Tebow would send destruction on us."

I think an old Jim Croce song is appropriate here.

You don't tug on Superman's cape You don't spit into the wind You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger And you don't mess around with Tim

Tebow: The Minor League Baseball Gimmick [TimTeblog] UF Sacks Miracle's 'What Would Tim Tebow Do?' Night [Naples Daily News]