Description

This print celebrates the best play of the day which was something of an accidentally athletic scramble. On third-and-5 from the Florida 22. He rolled right and tightroped the sideline, hopping on his right foot twice to stay inbounds before falling for the first down. A field goal put the Tide up 12-3.

It measures 8 1/2 x 11 and is signed and numbered by Bass Riggins and is entitled,

“SEC-MVP”

This print will fit in a standard size ready made frame

He jumped. He pumped his fists. He flashed two fingers on each hand to the Alabama fans — symbolic of the Crimson Tide’s 22nd Southeastern Conference championship.

He took another knee. The game was over. Alabama had delivered a dominant dethroning of Florida, 32-13, and The Other Quarterback was reveling in the moment.

Prevailing pregame wisdom held that the biggest difference between the No. 1 Gators and the No. 2 Tide was at quarterback. Tim Tebow was the rise-to-the-big-occasion playmaker, among the most decorated and celebrated players in college football history, chasing a second Heisman Trophy and a third national title. Meanwhile, Alabama was chugging along with this afterthought QB whom many people considered merely a game manager, not a game changer.

No Alabama fans mimic Greg McElroy’s eyeblack, and he puts no scripture references on it (in fact, it’s the old-fashioned, smear-on eyeblack, not the adhesive kind). At 220 pounds, he lacks the 240-pound Tebow’s imposing body, not to mention Tebow’s imposing body of work. And even after a solid season as the starter for an undefeated team, nobody liked his chances of outplaying Florida’s No. 15 here.

Alabama’s bruising defense ended one of the best runs in SEC history on Saturday night. The Gators didn’t see it ending like this. Blog

Yet when the knees were taken and the clock had run out, it was McElroy, not Tebow, who went racing off to celebrate. Game ball tucked in one hand, he sprinted to the corner of the Georgia Dome and leaped into the Alabama fans, who mobbed him euphorically.

For one magical day — the biggest day of the 2009 season to date — Greg McElroy out-Tebowed Tim Tebow. He threw for 239 yards and a touchdown, completing 12 of 18 passes against the No. 1 defense in America. He scrambled with verve, hopping on one foot down the sidelines and spinning past tacklers in the red zone. He threw a big block. He made no significant errors (while Tebow threw an interception in the end zone).

Then they capped off the day by handing the Most Valuable Player trophy to The Other Quarterback. He accepted it with what seemed to be sincere humility.

When it came down to the end of the game, McElroy didn’t throw a single pass in the fourth quarter. Didn’t have to. Victory was his, ans well as a trip to the Rose Bowl for the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.