Tebowing

2011

Date: 23 October 2011 · Place: Sports Authority Field, Denver, Colorado · Figures: Tim Tebow, quarterback · Jared Kleinstein, originator of Tebowing.com · Tags: Posed Photo, Sports Meme, Single-Serving Tumblr 01. A Knee On The Field On 23 October 2011 Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow drops to one knee in prayer after leading a comeback win over the Miami Dolphins. New York fan Jared Kleinstein photographs himself and friends imitating the pose at a Manhattan bar that night and registers Tebowing.com. Within a week the site is collecting hundreds of submissions per day. Tebow himself trademarks the term Tebowing in October 2012. 02. The Imitation Pose Genre Tebowing is the first major imitation-pose meme of the Instagram era, predating Planking's full mainstream peak and sharing structural logic with the Lying-Down Game, Owling, and Horsemaning. The format requires the meme to be photographically reproduced rather than verbally cited. It also marks the moment when the NFL recognizes that an athlete's spontaneous gesture can outpace the league's own branding and that the rights conversation about player gesture is no longer hypothetical. Sources • KnowYourMeme, 'Tebowing' • ESPN, 'Tebowing Goes Viral' (28 October 2011) • USPTO trademark registration 4585864 (October 2012)