Bayside gets Tebow time

EAST COUNTY — The Rev. Randy Bezet, lead pastor of Bayside Community Church’s campuses, prefers Tigers to Gators.

The Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers fan doesn’t typically cheer for the University of Florida (UF) Gators — unless that Gator is former UF quarterback Tim Tebow.

On Friday, Tebow visited Bayside’s State Road 64 campus for the Salvation Army’s 2015 Evening of Hope event. 

“If you’re a fighter and you stand for something, it’s contagious,” Bezet said. “Tim is that person who’s contagious. And his desire to work with the Salvation Army is a great opportunity to help local families in need.”

 Tebow, 27, is the son of missionaries and is passionate about his religion and helping individuals in need through the Tim Tebow Foundation and other charitable efforts.

Nearly 1,000 attendees, some of who traveled from as far as Cocoa Beach to hear Tebow speak for an hour, raised more than $75,000 for the local Salvation Army.

Christine Smith, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army of Manatee County, explained how the dollars impact the local homeless population.

Tebow’s take on a meaningful life

Although Tebow became a household name in 2007, when he started as UF’s sophomore quarterback and won the Heisman Trophy, he doesn’t view his career in cleats as his life’s biggest accomplishment.

In a hut in Thailand a few years ago, three children reminded Tebow of what he still strives toward today.

One child was sick, and two of his friends stayed behind with him, missing Tebow’s presentation to help their sick friend.

“When you were a child, would you have stayed behind and missed an athlete talk to you?” Tebow asked the packed auditorium. “I don’t know if I would have.”

Tebow spelled out basic concepts he has learned throughout his various overseas trips to Thailand, the Philippines and other countries — trips he has taken for religious missions or business purposes.

Living a meaningful life — one that revolves around helping others when possible — starts with kindness, Tebow said.

“Kindness isn’t always popular, especially among men,” Tebow said. “It’s not like you just walk up to a teammate and say, ‘Man, you’re kind.’”

Being courageous, even if it means being different from your co-workers, family, friends or teammates, is also a trait Tebow said he has worked hard to achieve.

Serving others, whether through missionary work or providing cots and warm meals to homeless individuals, has also been Tebow’s focus since he created his nonprofit organization five years ago.

“I wanted to do something that impacted someone,” Tebow said. “You don’t know what saying, ‘What can I do?’ can mean to someone. Big things are possible just by stepping out and doing something for another person.”

Men on the Street

“We’ve both been Tim Tebow fans for years. I know I really look up to him, especially as a UF student. We traveled from Cocoa Beach to hear him talk about his religious testimony and experiences.”

– Alexandrea DaCosta

“He’s such a motivator that even if he didn’t continue to pursue football, he could talk about his religion and beliefs and people would still come out and support him.”

– Julie Warren