Tebow with the ball.

• Author: Schley, Stewart
• Position: SPORTS [biz] - Poem

The stock market has price/earnings ratios. In real estate, it's location. And in the world of spectator sports, one element drives the market: hope. With that in mind, (and with apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer) we offer up this early-September preamble to the new NFL season:

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The season hadn't gone well for the Broncos now through three They'd lost badly in Seattle, and been humbled by Indy And when Knowsbon coughed the ball up, and Bailey tweaked his knee Despair began to burble in Section 103 Though hope had sprung eternal across the jerseyed masses They'd seen far too many miscues, and errant Orton passes Still, deep inside, in silence, eighty-thousand shared one thought: If Tebow dons his helmet, we might just have a shot But a first down was negated by a lousy offside call And Gaffney, like a rookie, dropped an easy gimme ball And with just one minute on the clock, and facing third and 10 It seemed apparent to the faithful. We were bound to lose again But an unexpected draw play caught two linebackers off-guard And a long-forgotten fullback earned the first down by a yard The opponents still had 1 3, and the Broncos still had nine When over on the sideline, McDaniels called for time. Then seemingly from nowhere, the crowd began to roar It started in the South Stands, near section 234 Where attentive fans had noticed a new player on the scene He was shorter than the others. And his number was 15. There was purpose in his gait as he trotted to the huddle There was poise in his demeanor, and the defense now smelled trouble From the cheap seats to the boxes, fresh hope had been restored For Tim was on the field, clad predominately in orange Eighty-thousand strong arose as the linemen took their places There was fury in their voices, and faith upon their faces They glanced once at the scoreboard, and clenched their knotted fists As Tebow harked the play out from a cheat sheet on his wrist Oh, a quick efficient handoff would surely get the offense going A safe and...