By Trevor Kapp and Mary Johnson
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Tim Tebow is taking Manhattan, in the form of T-shirts, jerseys, necklaces and cell phone cases.
The business being built around the religious and polarizing quarterback and Jets' new addition has boomed in the past few days, with a surge of new merchandise available both online and in sports stores across the city.
''I love Mark Sanchez. He was my dream boyfriend, but this past season, Tim Tebow became my guy,” said Daniella Singleton, 21, a self-described “huge Jets fan” who bought a green Tebow T-shirt from the Modell’s in Times Square on Friday. “Now I have the best of both worlds.”
Jeff Schneiderman, 50, came to Modell’s to scoop up a T-shirt for his son.
“I’m very excited he’s coming to New York, and I wanted my son to have this shirt immediately,” Schneiderman, who lives in Bergen County, N.J., said. “Those fourth-quarter comebacks are exciting.
"And he’s a role model guy,” he added. “I want my son looking up to someone like him.”
The options in Modell’s included jerseys and T-shirts bearing the name and number of the former Denver Bronco, who made headlines this past fall when he led his team to the playoffs.
Online, however, the choices are a bit more varied.
An Orlando-based T-shirt designer has created a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Jets for Jesus,” an apparent play on the phrase "Jews for Jesus.”
Across eBay, independent sellers are hocking a variety of Tebow-themed apparel and accessories.
Vendors have made necklaces and earrings out of miniature Tebow Jets jerseys. There are cell phone charms and iPhone cases.
And slogans across a slew of T-shirts replace the “T” in Tebow with crucifixes and incorporate images of the beefy QB crouched down on one knee praying — or as it has become widely known, “Tebowing.”
Despite the plethora of merchandise, Jets fans remain mixed on Tebow’s potential.
"That guy is overrated," said Marty Pollio, 40, a contractor from the East Village, shortly after the trade was announced. "I don’t think Sanchez can take us to the Super Bowl, but he’s better than Tebow."
Chris Toriello, 43, a real-estate property manager from Bayside, Queens, said he still had faith in Sanchez, despite last year's mediocre season.
“He’d gotten us to the AFC championship game two years in a row, and you gotta give him credit,” Toriello said. “He did struggle last year, but the locker room was in chaos.”
Still, some see Tebow as the Jets’ savior.
“I think it's great. It's about time to sit Sanchez,” said Lenin Lara, 29, a security guard. “We got a good quarterback now.''
