Somehow, the 2012 Jets killed Tebowmania.
Or did they?
A survey released Monday by Forbes.com finds that Tim Tebow is the most influential athlete in America.
According to Tom Van Riper of Forbes.com, the determination was made via surveys taken “over the past several months.” Though Tebow had an NFL job before last Monday, he nevertheless had become largely forgotten from a football standpoint during the most recent regular season.
A whopping 29 percent of the respondents deemed Tebow to be influential. He was followed by Olympians Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, and then by Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Finishing fifth was Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, the man who allowed Denver to throw Tebow overboard.
Being influential may not make a team more inclined to give Tebow a job. But it suggests that even if he spends the next decade languishing in various pro and/or semi-pro football leagues, the name will still carry weight when the time comes to transition to something else.