Tebow recalls LSU fan exchange

• By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN AND SCOTT RABALAIS
• Advocate sportswriters
• Published: Jul 24, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:23 a.m.

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HOOVER, Ala. — OK, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow would rather keep his phone this time and didn’t like the off-color comments. But really, he had fun toying with LSU fans.

Tebow pretended he was dialing a phone and then looked into the Tiger Stadium stands after throwing a touchdown pass to give the Gators a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. LSU went on to a 28-24 win in October, however.

Tebow’s gesture was in response to his cell phone number getting out to LSU fans before the game. His cell phone was flooded with messages that week.

“That was fun,” said Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner, on Wednesday at the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Winfrey Hotel. “I had fun with it. I enjoyed it. I didn’t enjoy not being able to use my phone the whole week.

“What can you say? College kids, they want to support their university, help their team. That’s fine. Does nothing but motivate me. … It just shows you how crazy some fans can be.”

“Some of it’s inappropriate as far as death threats or what they’ll say about your family,” Tebow said. “For the most part, I don’t even think about it. I really enjoy the intensity and the rivalry that brings.”

Asked for his new number Wednesday, Tebow laughed, “I’ll just go text the LSU fans.”

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive admittedly missed his goal — but not by much.

Five years ago, he announced it was his goal by this date to have no SEC schools on NCAA probation. He almost got there, with only one program — Arkansas track and field — currently on the NCAA’s list.

“We came close,” Slive said as he made his annual state of the conference address to the media. “While I take some solace in the fact that we’re far better off than we were six years ago, I’m disappointed that we were so darned close.”

Slive extolled the conference’s many achievements, including LSU’s BCS national championship, the fact it drew a record 6.6 million fans to its games, sent 75 percent of its teams to NCAA competition and has 150 former or current athletes set to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.