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Tebow's Popularity Pushes Columbia Fireflies To Top Of South Atlantic League In Attendance

Tim Tebow's presence in the lineup has helped the Columbia Fireflies lead the Single-A South Atlantic League "with 5,704 fans coming to Spirit Communications Park per game" so far this season, according to Lou Bezjak of the Columbia STATE. The Fireflies "have drawn 62,751 through the first 11 home games," up from "almost 42,000" at the same point in '16 (Columbia STATE, 4/24). In Charleston, David Caraviello noted Tebow's popularity also has seen the club play "before sellout crowds in cities like Augusta and Rome, Ga." Baseball America writer Josh Norris said of Tebow, "If some other 29-year-old had come off a 10-year hiatus to do this, they wouldn't get [a] contract. But because he is a brand name ... he can make a little money at the box office." Caraviello noted the Mets, the Fireflies' parent club, have received their "own share of criticism" for Tebow's deal. Norris: "At the very end of the day, they will get a guy who will sell tickets." Fireflies President John Katz said, "If this was a publicity stunt, he’d be in the big leagues and playing DH two or three times a week. He’s at the lowest full-season class of professional baseball." Caraviello wrote maybe Tebow's signing "really did spawn from earnest intentions and isn’t a publicity stunt as many have argued." But "given the results at the ticket office, it becomes hard to see the difference." Norris: “When they found out he was going to the South Atlantic League, other teams were excited. They advanced their single-game tickets for whichever games they were playing Columbia” (Charleston POST & COURIER, 4/24). CBSSPORTS.com's Mike Axisa wrote he expects the Mets to "promote Tebow to High Class-A fairly soon." Unlike the Fireflies, the Mets "own their High-A affiliate," the Florida State League St. Lucie Mets. That "means the increased ticket and merchandise sales puts the money directly in their pocket" (CBSSPORTS.com, 4/24). 

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