Key figures: Tim Tebow (quarterback), Jared Kleinstein (meme originator), John Fox (Denver Broncos coach)
Summary
“Tebowing” is a photo meme and internet phenomenon that emerged from the on-field behavior of NFL quarterback Tim Tebow. The practice involves kneeling on one knee, placing one’s elbow on the knee, and holding one’s fist against the forehead in a contemplative prayer pose—an action inspired by Tebow’s habitual on-field prayer. The named meme emerged in October 2011 and reached peak viral status that autumn following the Denver Broncos’ overtime victory against the Miami Dolphins, and its cultural reverberations extended throughout 2012 as Tebow became one of the most polarizing figures in American sports.
The meme’s explosion was catalyzed on October 23, 2011, when fan Jared Kleinstein posted photographs on Facebook showing friends mimicking Tebow’s pose at a New York restaurant. The images spread rapidly across social media, spawning Tebowing.com (which attracted 175,000 visitors within 48 hours) and a dedicated Tumblr blog. On December 13, 2011, the Global Language Monitor officially recognized “tebowing” as an English-language word, citing over 25,000 references across English-language media. On January 8, 2012, Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown pass in the Broncos’ Wild Card playoff overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers generated 9,420 tweets per second—then a record for sports-related social-media engagement. Time magazine named Tebowing No. 5 on its “Top Ten Memes of 2011” list.
Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver Broncos Season
Tim Tebow had established an exceptional collegiate career at the University of Florida, winning two BCS national championships (2007, 2008) and the Heisman Trophy in 2007. His NFL transition was more troubled: scouts doubted whether his throwing mechanics were suitable for professional play, and he was selected 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos—a pick considered a reach by many analysts.
The Broncos were 1-4 when head coach John Fox benched starter Kyle Orton and installed Tebow on October 9, 2011. What followed was improbable by any statistical measure. Denver went 7-4 in Tebow’s starts during the regular season, including a five-game winning streak. Tebow’s completion percentage (46.5%) ranked among the lowest of any starting quarterback, yet his rushing ability, grit, and fourth-quarter comebacks generated an unprecedented media and cultural response. ESPN’s statistical model found that Denver’s late-game win probability repeatedly flipped from under 20% with fewer than two minutes remaining to victory—a pattern repeated enough times to earn the label “Tebow Time.”
The culmination arrived on January 8, 2012, when Denver beat Pittsburgh 29-23 in overtime of the AFC Wild Card game. Tebow completed 10 of 21 passes for 316 yards—a number that sparked its own viral sub-phenomenon given its biblical allusion to John 3:16—and threw an 80-yard touchdown strike on the game’s first overtime play. According to Nielsen data, the game attracted 42.4 million television viewers.
Viral Spread and Digital Footprint
The Tebowing meme lifecycle followed a trajectory characteristic of early 2010s internet culture, but with unusual cross-demographic reach:
- October 23, 2011: Jared Kleinstein posts the first self-identified “Tebowing” images on Facebook after the Broncos’ overtime win against Miami.
- October 25, 2011: Tebowing.com launches; reaches 175,000 unique visitors within 48 hours. The site accepted user-submitted photos of people replicating the pose.
- November 2011: Submissions arrive from U.S. Marine Corps bases in Afghanistan, Wyoming’s State Capitol steps, the Taj Mahal, Antarctic research stations, and the streets of Tokyo.
- December 13, 2011: Global Language Monitor adds “tebowing” to its English-language word database after crossing 25,000 media references.
- January 8, 2012: The Pittsburgh-Denver playoff game breaks a Twitter sports record at 9,420 tweets per second during Tebow’s winning touchdown.
The meme’s structure made it unusually reproducible: unlike image-macro memes requiring digital tools, Tebowing required only a body and a camera, lowering the participation barrier to near zero. This distinguishes its spread mechanics from contemporaneous memes that required image-editing software. Comparable 2012 examples of participatory pose memes include “Planking” and “Owling,” though neither achieved Tebowing’s documented geographic reach or mainstream media saturation.
The meme represented an early case study in sports-driven social media virality. For comparison, the Gangnam Style viral phenomenon that emerged later in 2012 similarly demonstrated how participatory imitation—in that case a dance—could transcend cultural and national boundaries. The Kony 2012 campaign, also in the same year, illustrated how social media mobilization could simultaneously galvanize and fracture public attention around a single focal figure.
Religious and Cultural Dimensions
Tebow’s faith was not incidental but central to his public identity. He inscribed “John 3:16” and other Bible-verse citations on his eye black during his college games—a practice the NCAA barred beginning with the 2010 season under a rule widely nicknamed the “Tebow Rule.” In 2010 he and his mother, Pam, appeared in a Focus on the Family advertisement during Super Bowl XLIV that alluded to her decision to continue a difficult pregnancy; the spot drew national debate over airing an advocacy message with an implicit anti-abortion theme during the broadcast. He regularly cited his Christian faith in post-game press conferences.
For Tebow’s supporters, Tebowing embodied a counter-cultural assertion: that open religious devotion had a legitimate place in secular American public life, including professional sport. Evangelical Christian communities organized “Tebowing” events and highlighted his behavior as a model of unapologetic faith.
For critics, Tebowing raised questions under Matthew 6:5-6 (the biblical injunction against public prayer performed for show), creating an ironic theological tension within Christian discourse itself. Secular critics characterized the practice as performative religious theater or inappropriate proselytizing in a publicly accessible workplace. In December 2011, Riverhead High School on Long Island, New York, drew national attention when it suspended four students for a hallway “Tebowing” demonstration that administrators said blocked foot traffic and posed a safety hazard.
South Park’s 2012 episode “Faith Hilling” (Season 16, Episode 3, aired March 28, 2012) satirized the meme directly, depicting teenagers dying on train tracks while performing it, critiquing both religious display and the broader phenomenon of teenagers adopting internet trends without critical reflection. The episode placed Tebowing alongside other pose-based memes (“Bradying,” “McKayla-ing”) to argue that the meme form had calcified into predictable celebrity worship.
Career Trajectory After the Tebowing Phenomenon
The Broncos were eliminated by the New England Patriots 45-10 in the AFC Divisional Round on January 14, 2012. Denver subsequently acquired quarterback Peyton Manning in March 2012, making Tebow expendable. He was traded to the New York Jets on March 21, 2012, where he served as a backup to Mark Sanchez and did not start a regular-season game. The Jets released him in April 2013.
Tebow spent subsequent years attempting NFL returns (New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles cuts in 2013 and 2015), a professional baseball career in the New York Mets organization (2016-2021), and ultimately pivoted to television sports broadcasting. His NFL trajectory became a recurring media topic about the limits of faith, athleticism, and marketability in professional sport.
The Tebowing meme faded alongside Tebow’s playing career, though the term remains in sports-culture dictionaries. The Global Language Monitor’s recognition ensured the word’s permanence as a documented neologism of the early 2010s social media era.
Broader Significance
Tebowing emerged at the intersection of several forces reshaping American culture in 2011-2012:
- Social media maturation: Facebook and Twitter had achieved mass adoption; Twitter’s 140-character constraint had become a dominant format for sports commentary.
- Sports media saturation: ESPN’s multiplatform presence meant that a single NFL quarterback generated 24/7 coverage cycles.
- Culture-war polarization: The Obama–Romney electoral period (see: 2012 US Presidential Election) heightened sensitivity to religion’s role in American public life.
- Evangelical visibility: The 2010s saw increased public assertiveness from American evangelical communities, of which Tebow was an emblematic figure.
The meme’s lasting sociological contribution is as a case study in how a single individual’s sincere practice—observed by millions—can be simultaneously domesticated through imitation and contested through criticism, generating a cultural product neither the originator nor imitators fully controlled.
See Also
- Gangnam Style Viral Phenomenon — contemporaneous participatory meme with global spread
- Kony 2012 Campaign — parallel example of 2012 social media mobilization around a single figure
- 2012 US Presidential Election — electoral context for American cultural polarization
- Lance Armstrong USADA Investigation 2012 — contrasting 2012 sports figure narrative: faith and integrity under scrutiny
Sources
- Know Your Meme — Tebowing
- What Memes Mean: ‘Tebowing’ and the Complexity of Religious Humor — Christ and Pop Culture
- Time Magazine — Top Ten Memes of 2011
- Tim Tebow — Wikipedia
- South Park: “Faith Hilling” Episode — South Park Fandom
- Global Language Monitor — Word of the Year 2011
- Nielsen ratings for 2011-12 NFL Playoffs — Sports Media Watch