Tim Tebow, the devout Christian quarterback known for publicly praying before and after games, was photographed in his signature kneeling pose as early as December 20104. But the meme-worthy moment came on October 23, 2011, when Tebow led the Denver Broncos back from a 15-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat the Miami Dolphins 18-15 in overtime10. After the win, Tebow dropped to one knee in prayer amid the post-game chaos.

That same Sunday night, 24-year-old Jared Kleinstein and a group of Denver-raised friends living in New York City photographed themselves in the same pose outside the Sidebar bar2. Kleinstein posted the picture to Facebook, where it picked up an unexpected number of likes and comments1. The next day, he purchased the domain Tebowing.com and launched a Tumblr blog dedicated to the pose4. The first non-friend submission came from someone at Occupy Chicago1.

Tebowing crossed over from internet novelty to mainstream cultural moment within its first week. CNN covered the trend within 48 hours of the site launching, and every major sports network followed1. The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, IBTimes, and Bleacher Report all ran features on the fad by October 27, 201175.

The trend tapped into the broader "Tebow mania" gripping the NFL, where debates about the quarterback's faith and football ability dominated sports media. Kleinstein drew a comparison to the Denver Broncos' iconic Mile-High Salute celebration, noting that while both gestures gave fans a way to unite, "Tebowing allows a non sports fan to identify with a cause"1.

The trademark battle added another layer. Tebow's decision to legally claim "Tebowing" was unusual for athlete-meme interactions, and his stated intention to direct any proceeds to charity through the Tim Tebow Foundation softened potential criticism12.

The fad landed at a moment when Tebow was the most polarizing figure in American sports. A former University of Florida standout who led the Gators to two BCS National Championships, Tebow was the first underclassman to win the Heisman Trophy6. During the 2009 BCS Championship Game, he had painted "John 3:16" on his eye black, prompting 92 million Google searches for the Bible passage6. By the time he was starting for the Broncos in 2011, he was already a lightning rod for debates about faith, talent, and celebrity in sports.

The ESPN angle of the meme took a different form. On October 31, 2011, ESPN writer Bill Williamson published a skeptical article about Tebow's abilities as a passer6. The comments section erupted into a viral game of its own, with readers flooding the post with "X > Tebow" comparisons, naming everything from Netflix to dial-up modems to Rebecca Black's singing career as "better than Tebow"6. The article drew over 5,000 comments and spawned the Twitter hashtag #OccupyTebow, a riff on the Occupy Wall Street movement then sweeping the country6. A dedicated @OccupyTebow Twitter account appeared4.

By mid-November, Tebowing photos were being submitted from every imaginable location. People Tebowed in ambulances, in front of Rome's Colosseum, and underwater3. The IBTimes noted the fad had "taken over office spaces, airports, sidewalks and beyond"5. Kleinstein told reporters that after two and a half months, the site had received 20,000 photograph submissions and logged 20 million page views from 2 million unique visitors8.

On December 13, 2011, the Global Language Monitor announced that "tebowing" had been accepted into the English language, tracking its citations across the blogosphere, major media outlets, and social platforms4. While the GLM isn't an official dictionary authority, the recognition drew coverage from Yahoo Sports and other outlets4.

The peak came on January 8, 2012, when Tebow threw an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in the NFL playoffs. Twitter recorded 9,420 tweets per second related to the play, breaking the platform's record for a sports event and surpassing Beyoncé's pregnancy announcement at the 2011 MTV VMAs, which had generated 8,868 tweets per second9. The record was covered by the Mercury News, Mashable, and NBC4.

Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl Tebowed as part of a bet with Denver's mayor following the Broncos' playoff victory over the Steelers8. Robert Downey Jr. struck the pose at the Oscars12. Time magazine named Tebowing number five on its 2011 list of "Top Ten Memes"12.

Tebowing even made it into scripted television. The South Park episode "Faith Hilling," which aired on March 28, 2012, featured Tebowing prominently in a plotline about the dangers and absurdity of memetic trends, including a graphic educational video showing people dying while Tebowing on train tracks13.

On October 9, 2012, Tebow was awarded the trademark for "Tebowing" after a legal dispute with two fans who had sought to trademark the name themselves8. Tebow explained that he wanted "to control how it's used, make sure it's used in the right way," and said any future profits would go to his charity, the Tim Tebow Foundation12.