Tim Tebow meets Manny Pacquiao: 'Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother,' says Tebow

Former NFL player Tim Tebow arrives at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscars Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.(Photo: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)

Despite Freddie Roach's stand of not allowing anyone in the gym with unofficial business, there are some exception to that rule. And among those exceptions is NFL star Tim Tebow who recently paid his Christian brother a visit.

The American quarterback was on hand as he observed Pacquiao during one of his training sessions at the Wild Card gym. He stayed for about three hours which included seven rounds of sparring and eight rounds of pad work.

Tebow is a popular figure in the Philippines, having done his share of giving back to the Filipino society. But despite all that, Tebow and Pacquiao had never actually met face-to-face until now. However, that didn't seem to show when both finally met up close.

Images of Tebow's visit were posted via his Instagram account which read: "Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother".

Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother @emmanuelpacquiao #inspiration

A photo posted by Tim Tebow (@timtebow) on

Did Freddie Roach mind Tebow crashing Pacquiao's training? Not at all.

From the looks of it, Roach was glad that Tebow paid Pacquiao a visit. The long-time trainer further added that Tebow is a great competitor and standup guy who embraces his responsibility for being a role model.

Though he did not mention it, Roach may be hoping that Tebow's success could rub off on the Filipino fighter. Tebow practically climbed from nothing and gained prominence when he helped the Denver Broncos get into the 2011 playoffs. Tebow's history has simply been an inspiration and perhaps such could be good for Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is 1-2 underdog against Floyd Mayweather Jr. this coming May 2 but despite that, there are some who believe that Pacquiao has a good chance of scoring a win over the undefeated American boxer.

Pacquiao's training has been done in closed doors and Tebow's visit was (so far) the only one that was made an exception.