Skip Bayless Calls Tim Tebow the Saddest On-Field Sports Story He's Ever Seen

Skip Bayless has been perhaps the biggest public supporter of Tim Tebow over the last few months. All of it was ultimately for naught as Tebow was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this week, ending an experiment everyone except Bayless believed to be ill-fated from the start.

Does that mean Bayless will stop talking about Tim Tebow? No, reader. No it does not. After spending a large chunk of yesterday's Undisputed explaining why Tebow's 2010 run with the Denver Broncos was some of the greatest clutch quarterbacking he's ever seen, Bayless took the soap box again today to proclaim the story of Tebow is perhaps the saddest (on-field) tale the Fox Sports personality has ever personally witnessed.

It's a surprisingly long video for a social cut, so we'll cut to the chase. After reiterating that he means only on-field actions and no tragedies that occurred off the field, Bayless said he believes Tebow's story to be sorrowful because he was basically screwed at every turn. The Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by Josh McDaniels, who was fired before Tebow ever saw the field. When he finally did see the field, he went on the aforementioned run and catapulted the Broncos from a 1-4 basement dweller to the top of the AFC West and the playoffs.

He had an epic playoff victory, then proceeded to get ground into dust by the football machine that is the New England Patriots. After that, he never again was given the opportunity to start an NFL game. Combined with his subsequent struggle to make it in baseball and faux opportunity to play tight end with Jacksonville, and Bayless has never seen a sadder story.

Anyway, this is obviously a bunch of BS. I guess you can find some sympathy for Tebow because it would certainly suck to reach the heights you always dreamed of, only for it to be ripped away at a moment's notice. But that happens to the vast majority of professional athletes. It's part of the gig. Reaching those heights is never guaranteed, and staying there even less so.

There are numerous athletes who definitely have "sadder" stories. There's Colin Kaepernick, for example, who proved he was a starting-caliber quarterback at worst and was robbed of his dream job because of his choice to express his beliefs in a public manner. What about Derrick Rose, who became an MVP in his hometown only to lose five years of his career and all his starpower to one injury? Or Isaiah Thomas, finally given a chance to prove himself despite the odds, then got hurt and unceremoniously dumped from the NBA?

Tebow's story isn't sad. He was lucky. He was a great player in college who was given a shot because of his college resume, and when his play didn't prove up to snuff, was out of the league. That happens to dozens of players every single year. The only reason anyone thinks Tebow's story is different is because of the cult following he amassed and constant cries like the one above that he never really got a fair shake. Being a great athlete doesn't mean Tebow deserves anything. He had to earn it, and for a period of time, he did.

Then he couldn't earn it anymore. So he's done. It's a tale as old as time in professional sports. There's nothing special about this story. Nor is there anything sad about it. If you feel there is, I direct you to the old saying: Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.