Muslim brothers behind Tim Tebow billboard
DENVER – A giant electronic billboard that went up off 58th Avenue and Interstate 25 when the Broncos had an embarrassing record at the beginning of the season.
It begged Denver Broncos head coach John Fox to start Tim Tebow at quarterback instead of Kyle Orton.
Shortly after it went up, the Broncos reached 1-4 and then Tebow took over and led the team to the playoffs.
As the Broncos have evolved, so has the sign.
On Monday, the huge LED sign said, “Tebow’s trigger is right on target,” referring to John Elway’s request that Tebow throw the ball during Sunday night’s game.
Tebow threw for 316 yards and his 80-yard pass in overtime won the game for the Broncos over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The people behind the sign are not Christian or a conservative group plugging Tebow’s faith.
It’s three Muslim brothers who are just big fans of Tebow and the Broncos.
“It adds to the fun, at least for us,” Tariq Suleiman said.
“We wanted to be part of the excitement,” Mohammad Suleiman said.
After Sunday night’s thrilling overtime victory, the Suleiman brothers’ latest message asks doubters, “Now Do You Believe” in Tebow?
“For me personally, I never doubted him. I knew he could pull off a Steelers win,” Tariq said.
The Suleiman brothers have been creating new messages after each game, all from an office which has a window view of the sign.
Mohammad Suleiman is the youngest at 26, Ali, 28, is the middle brother, and Tariq, 30, comes up with most of the messages.
They all sell wholesale goods at their father’s store which is next to the billboard.
As most fans know, Tebow is a devout Christian who thanks the Lord during most interviews.
The Suleiman brothers are devout Muslims, also proud of their faith.
“We do like the fact that he practices what he preaches,” Mohammad Suleiman said.
“I am also a big believer in God as a Muslim, there are some differences but when Muslims and Christians get together, miracles can occur. We just had the Mile High miracle!” Tariq Suleiman said.
After Tebow threw for 316 yards last night, people quickly made the religious connection to John 3:16, which is Tebow’s favorite Bible verse.
Tebow also wore the verse on his eye black when he was quarterback in college at the University of Florida.
After the connection surfaced Monday morning, John 3:16 became the most searched Google term on Monday.
“I went to check the Quran, chapter 3, verse 16 to see what it said, and it talks about salvation and believing in God, very similar to what the Bible says,” Mohammad Suleiman said.
But the Suleimans say they didn’t start running the billboards for religious reasons, it was all about rallying for their favorite quarterback and team.
“It’s been great, obviously with the wins, and the way the fans have been coming in and reacting, they’ve been coming in and thanking us,” Mohammad Suleiman said.
“We love the Denver Broncos, we’ve always been fans, and this year has been just an amazing year,” Tariq Suleiman said.
9NEWS got a preview of the next sign the brothers will unveil. You can see it tonight on 9NEWS at 9 and 10 p.m.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
January 10th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I commend the brothers who did this… If only they put their efforts behind something more worthwhile than american football-
January 10th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
So I guess faith doesn’t matter comapred to what’s important-FOOTBALL
men and sports, no matter the culture 
January 10th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Does anyone notice that when Tebow “tebows” he faces Mecca?
January 10th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Tebow threw a pass, and it was run to the end zone by Demaryius Thomas, another member of the team. If Tim Tebow were a man of good charater, he would acknowledge his team mate who caught the pass and ran it in, and the rest of his team.
To me, that would have showed to me the charater of a Christian…not just bowing down on the field, and making a spectile of himself…to mention his team mates, and make sure that thier names are next to his in any press he gets.
Think about it…what happens the next time he passes, and the intended reciever doesnt catch it, or it is caught by a player on the opposing team…will he give Jesus credit for that?
January 11th, 2012 at 2:59 am
I agree with that Nur, this Tebow chap doesn’t seem ‘humble’ enough to me. But that is his problem and his choice in life… I’m sure he feels that he is somehow spreading gospel or whatnot.
It reminds me of the passage from the Bible about those who go to pray noisily in the streets so everyone can see it compared to those who go and do it quietly in the background. We Muslims have a similar bunch of ‘noisy’ believers too…
And also another interesting point you make; what does Mr Tebow say when it all goes wrong
Jack
January 11th, 2012 at 11:46 am
Personaly Tebow is a Gator and I don’t like him because of that. Also, he isn’t an NFL calibor QB, he might not last another season, a gimmick offense doesn’t last long.
January 11th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
I am sure this a plan by the Muslim “Brotherhood” to take over NFL!
January 11th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
“If Tim Tebow were a man of good charater, he would acknowledge his team mate who caught the pass and ran it in, and the rest of his team.”
Nice. Judging the character of a man for being overtly religious.
He gives credit to Jesus Christ, he doesn’t take it for himself. He can’t help the media storm surrounding him for being who he is.
Could he take it down a couple of notches? Sure. But that doesn’t take away his humility. And more importantly, he isn’t just putting on a show. He gives incredible amounts of money to charity, helps build hospitals and was an actual missionary.
That, to me, speaks more about his character, and his willingness to stand by his faith, than kneeling after winning a game.
January 12th, 2012 at 5:17 am
Well – good luck to the Broncos – but the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl again, even if it means beating the Broncos in the Super Bowl!
January 13th, 2012 at 10:51 am
@Nur
Tebow DOES acknowledge his teammates and acknowledged Thomas as well in the post game press conference.
He wasn’t taking all the glory of the win for himself.
I am not a Broncos fan (die hard Redskins fan here) but I am a big fan of Tim Tebow. I respect someone who has such faith in God and is humble at the same time.
He is a good kid
January 15th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
football geez thats why americans can be violated
January 15th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Stupid.