I was doing research for a story on Marco Rubio's history and remembered the time Dan Marino showed up at the Florida House and threw a ball, with mustard on it, to the young House speaker. Rubio also caught a pass from Tim Tebow.

It's all preserved on YouTube.

Rubio played football at South Miami High and went to tiny Tarkio College in Missouri. Beset with financial trouble, the school folded and with it, five-foot-nine Rubio’s gridiron dreams. He enrolled at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville before getting into the University of Florida. He then went to University of Miami Law School, graduating in 1996.

Whoever posted the clip above cut out the pass from Tebow that Rubio fumbled.

Former Democratic Rep. Dan Gelber sets up the Tebow moment: "Marco took off his jacket; steadied himself and prepared for what would unquestionably be the softest pass ever thrown by Tim Tebow. Tim tossed it like a softball pitch and Marco easily caught it, but made the mistake of asking for another throw. Now Marco had done nothing to personally wrong me (other than advancing a totally right-wing political agenda), but sometimes your lesser instincts get the better of you. I leaned toward Tebow and told him that Marco confided to me that he thought Tebow threw like his grandmother. Tebow showed only the slightest of smiles, and then proceeded to hurl a bullet at our unexpecting Speaker. Rubio tried to corral it but fumbled. Mission accomplished. Sorry Marco."

BONUS: In 2007, Rubio watched the NFL draft in his office with Charlie Crist. It was clear then that the two were headed on a collision course.