Rising Star Tim Tebow Thrills Columbia Fireflies Fans with Newly Potent Bat

It is beginning to appear that Tim Tebow is on the brink of once again proving the haters wrong.

The former NFL quarterback and Florida Gators legend’s attempt to make the transition to baseball was widely mocked and derided as a publicity stunt. Tebow didn’t make the cut with the major-league New York Mets and was assigned to the class A Columbia Fireflies of the South Atlantic League. Many doubters predicted that his tenure would be short and that his dream would be dead on arrival.

Tebow started off his minor-league career in high style by bashing a home run in his very first at bat and despite some predictable early transition issues now appears to be on course for what could be a truly magical season.

The Fireflies are currently 2.5 games out of first place in their division and Tebow is heating up. In a Wednesday game against the rival Asheville Tourists Tebow went 3-for-4 including a triple. It was his third multi-hit game in a week, driving his batting average up to a respectable .246.

Tebow’s stint with the Fireflies is also a box office boon as the team is reportedly selling around 2,000 tickets per game than at a similar time last year according to the Columbia Post and Courier:

That appears to be the case in Columbia, which entering this week led the SAL in average attendance at 5,787 per game — 2,000 a night more than last year, the Fireflies’ inaugural season. That appears the case on the road, where Tebow has played before sellout crowds in cities like Augusta and Rome, Ga.

It’s apparent in the fans who’ve turned out in Florida, Broncos or even Jets jerseys and crowd for one of the hundreds of autographs he signs each week.

Tebow is now so hot that even the big sports websites are starting to take notice:

While it is still only April and there’s a lot of season left to go, it isn’t inconceivable that if Tebow keeps it up that he may find himself facing down pitchers in Citi Field. Considering the slow start by the Mets, God knows that they can use some help.