Tim Tebow's knack for engineering last-minute comebacks has powered the Denver Broncos into the NFL playoffs. It has also made the 24-year-old quarterback an Internet sensation - one who needs sturdy IT infrastructure.
Tebow recently turned to data center provider Peak 10, which is hosting TimTebow.com and TimTebowFoundation.org on a cloud platform optimized for high-traffic web sites. Peak 10, which provides colocation and managed hosting, said it was hosting the sites "as a charitable contribution" from its Jacksonville campus.
Tebow's web sites moved to Peak 10 on Nov. 21, several days after Tebow led a last-minute drive to beat the New York Jets in a nationally-televised Thursday night game. After helping the team qualify for the playoffs, Tebow threw a game-winning 80-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a first-round game. The dramatic victory prompted 9,420 tweets-per-second, a new record for sports events on Twitter, where Tebow has more than 950,000 followers and the popular #tebowtime hashtag.
Added Support for Traffic Spikes
On Broncos' game days, traffic to Tebow's web sites surge to about six times the usual volume, according to Peak 10, which says it is providing the sites with flexible infrastructure to handle traffic spikes. "Since they’re in the cloud they can increase their available resources easily due to the scalability of the Peak 10 Cloud offering," said company spokesperson Amanda Brown.
"Given our sites’ growing popularity and traffic, we chose Peak 10 because of the reliable IT solutions it was able to provide,” said Erik Dellenback, Executive Director of the Tim Tebow Foundation. "We also appreciate the caliber of its expert staff and focus on customer service. We are excited about building our relationship moving forward."
This Saturday night the Broncos will take on the New England Patriots in a contest matching two of the NFL's marquee quarterbacks, Tebow and Tom Brady of the Patriots.
Tebow was a collegiate star at the University of Florida, winning the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and leading the Gators to two NCAA National Championships. He also gained attention for his public expression of his Christian faith, including a prayerful one-knee stance that has become known as "Tebowing." During the Broncos' run toward the playoffs, The New York Times wrote that Tebow's public displays of faith have "escalated into a full-blown national debate over religion and its place in sports."
That extends to his web presence. Peak 10 is also hosting the Tim Tebow Foundation web site, which supports the 23-year-old athlete's charitable efforts. These include programs to create playrooms in children’s hospitals, build a children's hospital in the Philippines and grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
“We are honored and excited to be working with The Tim Tebow Foundation,” said Mike Stockwell, the vice president and general manager of Peak 10 Jacksonville. “Through our state-of-the-art facilities, the foundation now has a secure environment to provide a high-quality Internet experience to its growing base of supporters around the world. Our highly-trained Jacksonville team will provide the Tim Tebow Foundation with unmatched levels of IT security and network availability.”
