The back story: Last week, the New York Post reported that Tebow and Swift went on a dinner date in Los Angeles the day after the Academy Awards. Neither have acknowledged that they're an item, but that hasn't stopped wits nationwide from acting as if they are.
To which Taylor might ask: Why you got to be so mean?
Since then, Tebow has been a sideline player in the Manning drama, with his most loyal fans aghast at the idea that he might be supplanted as starting Broncos quarterback by anyone -- even a guy with multiple MVP awards and a Super Bowl ring -- and other local boosters giddy at the idea of Peyton with a horse head, rather than a horse shoe, on his helmet.
Cut to yesterday, when Manning flew to Nashville in Titans owner Bud Adams's private plane. And after reports surfaced that the craft had been wheeled into a hangar owned by Swift, the jokes started flying. Like, for instance, this....
Tim Tebow announced that he is waiting until marriage to park his plane in Taylor Swift's hangar.
— thesarcastro (@thesarcastro) March 14, 2012
And this....
first manning's trying to take tebow's job....now he's parking his jet in taylor swift's hangar? why you gotta play him like that, peyton?
— mollydooker studio (@mollydooker) March 14, 2012
And this....
They parked Bud Adams private plane in Taylor Swift's hangar. So may Tebow jokes, head might explode.
— Jessica Jones (@JessJonesCO) March 14, 2012
As for whether the Broncos' chances of landing Manning got better or worse following his Tennessee trip, the consensus is...worse. As this New York Times item details, Manning seems to have a thing for the state, having chosen to play college ball there despite his family's history of attending Ol' Miss and sticking around for his senior season with the Volunteers instead of making himself eligible for the draft a year early. The full-circle aspect of a Titans signing is said to intrigue him, as does playing in the AFC South, a division he knows very, very well. And then there are the reports that he's already been offered a post-retirement front-office position in Tennessee, with an ownership stake thought to be a possibility as well.
Of course, the question of whether the Titans would be as strong a Super Bowl contender as the Broncos with Peyton under center remains wide open. The team managed a 9-7 record last year -- one victory better than Denver -- but missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker that favored the Bengals. However, their newish coach, Mike Munchak, is not nearly as known a quantity as the Broncos' John Fox, and from a personnel standpoint, the Broncos' future is arguably more promising.
We should know soon if these last factors had an impact or were brushed aside by a wave of Deep South sentiment. But if Manning signs with Tennessee, he'll probably get his own hangar, leaving Taylor Swift's available for Tebow. Glass half full!
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More from our Sports archive: "Tim Tebow Super Bowl Twitter king thanks to Katy Perry, Katharine McPhee."
