Some have made the joke that evangelical Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow gets a little help from above when he takes the field on Sundays.
But a recent poll shows that there are plenty of people out there who truly believe that's the case.
According to a telephone survey conducted Tuesday by the website Poll Position, 43.3 percent of people believe Tebow's accomplishments on the field can be attributed to divine intervention.
The poll surveyed 1,056 people, and of the 756 who said they were familiar with Tebow, roughly 327 of them said they believe God plays a role in the second-year NFL quarterback's success.
Only 42.3 percent of those familiar with Tebow said divine intervention does not play a role in Tebow's success (14.4 percent gave no opinion), meaning there are more respondents who do believe Tebow is receiving a little extra help than there are who don't.
The 18- to 29-year-old demographic was the most likely to believe that Tebow's accolades are a result of divine intervention, at 52.3 percent, followed by the 45- to 64-year-old age group (47.9 percent), the 30- to 44-year-old age group (38.1 percent) and respondents ages 65 or above (30.9 percent).
The poll also found that women were more likely than men to believe that God is a Broncos fan, with 46.4 percent of female respondents saying yes, as opposed to 40.6 percent of men.
When it comes to party affiliation, 54.2 percent of Republicans said they believe God plays a role in Tebow's success, as opposed to 38.2 percent of Democrats and 35.1 percent of independents.
And among ethnic groups, Latino respondents proved to be the biggest believers, with a whopping 81.3 percent saying they believe God helps Tebow and the Broncos succeed. 59.5 percent of black respondents and 38.3 percent of white respondents also said yes.
Tebow's faith has been a subject of much attention — and occasional ridicule — over the past few months. His traditional kneeling pose while praying on the field has led to the "Tebowing" craze, and comedy show "Saturday Night Live" recently performed a skit poking fun at the former Gator's outwardly religious ways.
But Tebow seems to be taking all of the attention — positive and negative — in stride.
He has remained outspoken about his faith despite the criticism, and since Tebow took over the starting quarterback job in October, his Broncos are 8-4 — not to mention just two wins away from a spot in the Super Bowl.
Denver's next game is Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass., against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
