Tim Tebow factor coming to Cortland along with New York Jets - Syracuse.com (blog)

Julio Cortez / APNew York Jets quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (left) and Tim Tebow work out during a practice on May 31 in Florham Park, N.J.

Football season usually signifies to Karen Fruscello that it’s time to do something else.

The Fairmount resident is not a fan of the sport, and easily finds other ways to pass those hours.

“I could care less. That’s the time I take a bath. I look at it as my time, whatever I want to do,” she said. “Whether I want to try a new recipe, go to the store, that’s what I do.”

Fruscello plans on making an exception and joining the sport’s fanatical herds in the next couple of weeks. The New York Jets are returning to training camp at SUNY-Cortland, and Fruscello wants her husband, Dominic, to take her to specifically see new quarterback Tim Tebow in person.

“To find somebody who is a positive role model and doing the right thing is something for kids to see,” Karen said. “If somebody is willing to do that, I think you should support him.”

The Tebow Factor is a variable that has SUNY-Cortland and a community eager to get swept up in it unsure of exactly what’s heading their way.

The Jets open training camp Friday, but their first public practice is Saturday. The team is returning to the school after a one-year layoff because of last summer’s NFL lockout.

In 2010, more than 41,000 people visited the campus during the team’s three-week stay, boosting the regional economy by an estimated $5.8 million. The offseason acquisition of Tebow, a backup quarterback but an all-star personality and polarizing religious figure, toss those numbers out the window as a point of reference.

“We wish there was a way to quantify,” said Frederic Pierce, public relations director for the school. “We know he has a huge following of people who don’t normally follow football training camp. Are people going to come to Cortland to see him? We hope so. We’re preparing for a big crowd, so we’re ready for it.”

The Jets have practiced at SUNY Cortland since 2009, and the current deal runs through next season with a mutual option to extend it two more years after that. Tebow’s evangelical Christian beliefs, which he proudly and publicly espouses, add unique wattage to his drawing power during this stay.

Jim Dempsey, director of the Cortland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, didn’t know of any specifics yet but said he wouldn’t be surprised if church groups make special trips to watch Tebow.

Dempsey said his group briefly discussed including that aspect of Tebow’s life in its overall Jets marketing, but decided it would be difficult to mix a spiritual angle into a football sales pitch.

“It’s hard to say (how many extra fans will show). There are folks out there who see him as a role model. They will come and support him,” Dempsey said. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It will be interesting to see.”

Kitty Jones, owner of Spirit & Life religious bookstore in Cortland, said she’s tried to contact Tebow through his publicisit and via a local Facebook campaign to see if he would do a book signing. But she understands that’s a longshot.

“He’s very bold in his faith, and I appreciate that,” said Jones, a member of the Grace Christian Fellowship Church in Cortland. “You have to take into account that he is here training. That’s his primary job.”

Tebow can still create massive ripples in another strong American fiber â€" capitalism â€" with his large shadow alone. Steve Wineberg, owner of Bernard’s Custom Logo store in Cortland, printed up “Tebowmania” T-shirts that have been flying off the shelves at $15 a pop.

“It’s exploding for us,” he said. “Him coming to the Jets is big.”

Even as a life-long New York Giants fans, Dominic Fruscello could see himself pulling on one of those shirts â€" maybe. But he knows he might have to purchase a more garish Tebow representation for his wife’s trip to camp.

“I’m going to have to go over to the mall and find a Tebow shirt for her. I’m just debating whether I should wear my four-time Giants Super Bowl shirt,” he said. “I like Timmy a lot. But he’s not playing for my team. New York Giants blood runs deep with me.”