What do the Great Wall of China, the Vegas strip, Disney World and the Brooklyn Bridge have in common?

They’ve all been Tebowed.

It’s the newest pop culture phenomenon: people spontaneously kneel and bend their heads in prayer. A picture of four people Tebowing outside of a New York bar inspired the movement after a Broncos game. It went viral, and soon, people everywhere were bending on one knee to pay respect to Tim Tebow.

One visit to tebowing.com, the official Tebowing website, will result in hundreds of pictures of people Tebowing. There are pictures of people in Greece, Croatia, Italy, Rwanda, Ireland and Afghanistan. Pets, babies and soldiers are Tebowing. Surgeons, pilots and actresses are Tebowing.

And while the phenomenon was cool during its first week, Tebow and the Broncos were destroyed by the Detroit Lions two Sundays ago. All of a sudden, the criticism of Tebow began. ESPN columnists and Denver sports anchors were mocking the Tebowing movement, the team and Tebow himself.

The original Tebowers claimed they took the picture to pay homage to Tebow. The quarterback, who has made headlines with his athleticism and devout faith, can often be seen kneeling on the sidelines. The original Tebowers said that they weren’t making fun of him or his faith, but respecting him. Even Tebow believed that it was a good thing, tweeting, “#Tebowing – to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different. Love it!” He sent the tweet along with a picture of a little boy undergoing cancer treatment who was Tebwoing. It was the ultimate feel good story of the week.

But then Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch took it a bit too far. He sacked Tebow during the game, then Tebowed. It was a pathetic show of poor sportsmanship. It would have been great if Tebow could have come back to beat the Lions, but he couldn’t pull it off.

With the Broncos falling further and further behind in the standings, Tebowing is going to start being used to mock Tebow. The poor guy doesn’t deserve to be mocked. He came into Denver, which is extremely tough on its quarterbacks, with fans expecting every QB to become the next John Elway. Tebow doesn’t go around to the media, claiming to bring the Lombardi trophy to Denver. Tebow just goes out and plays hard. He’s not a very good quarterback, but he’s humble, dedicated and loyal.

Tebowing has been fun, but it’s run its course. And unless the Broncos start pulling wins out of nowhere, Tebowing is going to start being used for the wrong reasons.

hrutt@mavs.coloradomesa.edu