I’m willing to bet a significant portion of you are familiar with “Tebowing” despite having no idea who Tim Tebow is. For those who don’t know or care much about the NFL, I’ll try to briefly sum up. Tebow is the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, and he thinks Jesus is just the best. Despite his wonky throwing motion, he was a standout star in college. However, many doubted that his talents would translate well to the pro game, where defenses are faster and tougher to fake out.

After the Broncos started the season 1 – 4, then-third stringer Tebow was thrown in and managed to win 7 of the last 10 games, many in dramatic comebacks, last-second scores, or overtime. Suddenly Tebow was a “you couldn’t make this stuff up” story. Is Tebow the hero? That’s debatable, but the sports world had a story. He wears his Christianity on his sleeve, so many of his most ardent supporters love him as much for his stature in the broader American Culture Wars as they do for his football accomplishments. The same types that honestly think there’s a War on Christmas are likely to view criticism of Tebow as the haters doing their typical hatin’ on outspoken Christians. This reaction of course only makes Tebow’s detractors roll their eyes even more, which makes his supporters more butthurt, and the cycle keeps spinning.

For what it’s worth, Tebow himself seems like a nice dude and a good teammate, so his status is no fault of his own. As his fame and the number of cameras pointed at him at all times has grown, people started to notice his habit of taking a knee and bowing his head in reflective prayer before games, after games, after scoring, before critical moments of the game, and for just about any other football occasion where he can think to ask/thank God for his help. Naturally, many found this mannerism amusing, expanded the concept to any occasion imaginable, and Tebowing was born. There are T-shirts. It’s the meme of the moment, the spiritual descendant of planking.

This sack and subsequent taunt represents something profound, identified beautifully by the color guy remarking “You knew that was coming.” Whether Tebow likes it or not, his little prayer thing has been eaten up by the internet, come full circle, and been spat back out. Mainstream culture, perhaps best exemplified by NFL fandom, has been infiltrated by the same viral machines of the internet that produce the likes of Just Chuck Testa, Sad Keanu, and DOUBLE RAINBOW.  Why did Stephen Tulloch “Tebow” Tim Tebow? For the lulz. Now I wouldn’t be shocked to see an NFL player to talk trash about a coming game via lolcat tweet. It’s old news that internet geekdom isn’t really a cultural fringe anymore, but it’s amazing to see just how far into the mainstream it’s come.