Are you a fan of Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow?

When he revived the failing fortunes of the team in the fall of 2011 he was revered in Denver as something like the second coming of John Elway. After he replaced Kyle Orton, the amazing Broncos won seven of their next nine games. Three of those wins were in overtime, leading some to wonder if Tebow’s very openly expressed Christianity was bringing miraculous divine intervention. Tebow’s quarterback ratings were never very good, however—he ranks only 24th on the list with a rating of only 77, and he is averaging only 128 passing yards a game. Somehow the Broncomaniacs on the Front Range thought that Tebow had been slighted by being passed over for the Pro Bowl, but that unlikely scenario was not helped by the Broncos’ losing the last three games. The final loss was particularly galling—to the Kansas City Chiefs, proud new owners of Kyle Orton—in a game in which Tebow managed only 60 passing yards. But—the Broncos still made the playoffs at 8-8.  

In moments of triumph Tebow drops to one knee to give glory to God. Even his most contemptuous critics must realize that he is utterly sincere, but that doesn’t stop their sarcasm. In week 8 Detroit Lions’ linebacker Stephen Tullock broke through the Denver blocking to sack Tebow, and in celebration he dropped to one knee, mocking the downed quarterback. After the Broncos were pasted on Christmas Eve by the Buffalo Bills, noted skeptic and atheist Bill Maher tweeted, "Wow, Jesus just (screwed) #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is Tebowing, saying to Hitler "Hey, Buffalo's killing them." Maher was not particularly worried that he had crossed a line. "All u J-freaks having a cow re my Tebow tweets pls go back to the much longer piece we did on 11/4 Real Time and have a proper heart attack," he tweeted later.

The AP reports that at Riverhead High School on Long Island two high school students were disciplined for “Tebowing,” i.e. an organized kneel-down during the school day. District superintendent Nancy Carney says that the tribute posed a safety hazard. Each student was given a suspension.

Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is known as a Christian, but when asked if he supported Tebow’s dramatic public expressions of his faith he just laughed and quoted a line attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

So do you want Tebow to keep Tebowing?