On a lighter note, the Tim Tebow circus will continue: The New England Patriots have signed him

The New England Patriots have not won a Super Bowl since 2004. The organization is in complete disarray, and now, finally, Pats fans can admit the problem: Tom Brady, a quarterback who barely got to play at Michigan, missed his chance to be forged in the wondrous tradition of the college game, and so, let’s face it, has never really understood winning. His first three Super Bowl victories were an obvious case of beginner’s luck, as proven by his losses in the last two. Folks in the know have been muttering for years about the way Brady has held back super-talented wide receivers like Reche Caldwell and Deion Branch. And now, at long last, the head coach Bill Belichick has come to his senses, and brought in a replacement. The roughly accented Yankee prayers of men and women from Hartford to Fort Kent have been answered. Close your eyes, take a knee, and welcome the new starting quarterback for New England: Tim Tebow!

Just kidding. Well, about some of it.

Last season, the Patriots came within a game, and a fine performance by the Baltimore Ravens, of making another Super Bowl. And any success that their series of average offensive players has enjoyed is thanks, in large part, to the massive competence of Brady, who has managed to remain beloved (at least in New England) for more than a decade despite being the spokesman for Ugg boots. He isn’t going anywhere. But the Patriots really did just sign the free agent and Internet-exploder Tim Tebow as their third-string quarterback. The deal reportedly came together in less than twenty-four hours, and Tebow is expected to join the Patriots for their mini-camp on Tuesday.

There are several stages to the real reaction that Pats fans will have to this startling news. After disbelief comes a struggle toward acceptance: we will now be obliged to cheer for a player who has long been an object of near total scorn, first in the days surrounding the Patriots’ 45-10 dismantling of Tebow’s Broncos, in 2012, and, even more so, during all of last season, when the Tebow/Sanchez Agonistes of the Jets provided five months’ worth of joyous chestnuts. Free agency makes fools out of rabid fans, and so here, Pats fans would do well to forgive themselves and get on with it. Doing so will be embarrassing, sure—but remember, we managed to root for Chad Ochocinco for a while there. This can’t be that bad. There is, one must admit, some reason to believe that the signing of Tebow will be more than simply an early summer diversion and a media circus.

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