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Tebow-mania subsided substantially since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots crushed the Denver Broncos' hopes for a fairytale trip to the Super Bowl.
But that isn't stopping Tim watchers. Now they're turning their collective attention to the next-best obsession: A storybook ending in the quarterback's personal life.
As in...does he have a girlfriend?
Tebow says no. The outspoken Christian and acknowledged virgin says he's "too busy with football and life...I am blessed to have a close-knit [group] around me. I love meeting and talking with people, socializing and hanging out. But people can read it the wrong way."
Tebow notes that "leading girls on" is definitely not in his playbook. "I always want to be very careful about that,'' he says. "That is one thing that's a little frustrating."
So with the gossip mill linking him ad nauseum with newly single icons such as Olympic champion skier Lindsey Vonn and pop superstar Katy Perry, it's refreshing to learn of Tebow's real-life friendship with brain-tumor survivor Kelly Faughn.
”I just think he’s great, a really nice guy,” said Kelly, 22, of Clifton, Va., who still deals with hearing loss suffered at birth and a tremor that began when she was 12. “It’s just his faith. We are God-friends.”
It all started in 2009 after Kelly's surgery to remove a benign brain tumor and a much-needed trip to Disney World in Orlando with her family. The bonus was that Tebow, then with the University of Florida, was scheduled to attend ESPN's College Football Awards at Disney.
Since Kelly was a big Tim fan, she and her dad, Jim, hatched their plan. They grabbed a spot in the ESPN Zone restaurant the day before the awards, Kelly wearing her "I Love Timmy" button and hoping to catch a glimpse of Tebow as he walked by—and she did.
“Well, I thought, that’s it,” Jim said. “We got a wave from Timmy and I thought that was the end of it. Then, somebody came to our table and asked if we wanted to meet Timmy.”
Silly question.
Kelly was whisked into a private banquet room where Kelly was seated at Tebow’s side, chatting with him during the entire dinner. Then Tebow had another surprise in store, Kelly remembered.
“He said, ‘What are you doing tomorrow night? Why don’t you come to the awards dinner as my date?’” Kelly said. “I was shocked. I said yes. I felt like Cinderella.”
Without much more than T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops in her suitcase, Kelly spent the next day “power shopping” and getting her hair done. “I felt like I was in heaven,” Kelly said.
Kelly and Tebow have stayed in touch since their whirlwind date, exchanging messages and gifts. Kelly sent him a box of nutrition bars, and Tebow sent her an engraved Bible for Christmas. The family has also attended two games, including one in Denver last month arranged by the Tim Tebow Foundation.
“He’s a really nice guy, but it’s his faith,” Kelly said. “He really believes in God.”
(h/t: Centreville Patch)
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