You just knew Denver Bronco's quarterback Tim Tebow and the mainstream media's obsession with his religion -- and one verse of the bible, in particular -- would find a way to bleed over into pro wrestling.
Sure enough, parallels are being drawn in the form of the John 3:16 bible verse he made famous by writing it on his eye black during his days playing at the University of Florida. But a certain WWE superstar was using it when Tebow was still running around as a child.
Stone Cold Steve Austin.
"The Rattlesnake" cut one of the most famous promos in pro wrestling history back at the King of the Ring in 1996 when he went off on Jake Roberts, who was working a religious gimmick at the time. Austin's words:
"You sit there, and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere... Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 ... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"
Even today, that promo has stood the test of time and remains one of the best ever.
But now that Austin has slowly faded into B-movie roles while Tebow has risen from a fourth string quarterback to a starter who just defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wildcard Round of the NFL playoffs, he's taking over the verse.
Indeed, many outlets picked up on quite a few interesting statistics from the Broncos vs. Steelers game this past Sunday. Like the fact that Tebow threw for exactly 316 yards. And that he averaged 31.6 yards per pass attempt. There are more but they get increasingly silly and you get the point.
Naturally, Austin was found and asked what his thoughts were about Tebow taking over the number he helped get over so big. His response (via Fox Sports):
"Austin 3:16 still rules. If Tebow can throw for 316 yards again this weekend, then hell, he can have the numbers, and I'll have no problem with it. A guy named John was using it before me . . . so if Tebow can do it again, more power to him! I'm not a Denver fan, but Tim's a great role model for kids."
Tebow throwing for exactly 316 yards against the New England Patriots is about as likely as me going outside and getting struck by lightning three times in a row in the middle of January in the Midwest. Then again, I thought the same odds applied to his being able to accomplish that feat against the number one defense in the NFL that Pittsburgh brought to town this past weekend.
Anything can happen, right?
Really, let's just admit how silly this whole thing is -- including the rise and inevitable fall of Tebow -- and go back to the serious business of talking about The Funkasaurus from Planet Funk.