I remember watching the entire 2011 NFL season unfold last year and the craze over Tim Tebow’s “#Tebowing” became a national sensation. They had websites on it, TV personalities were doing it and even Tebow himself was enjoying the craze.

Somehow, someway, the movement blew itself up into American pop culture. Could the same thing happen to “#Kaepernicking”? Well, it has that potential.

But in order for me to understand this phenomenon, I looked back at what made #Tebowing so popular and if Kaepernick’s celebration could amount to that kind of a snowstorm.

Remember, both these celebrations are easy to do and don’t require tools or anything. They can be performed essentially anywhere. This is what makes these celebrations so unique. It’s easy.

The first thing that struck me about #Tebowing was that it was an origin of Tim Tebow. The man’s popularity to the American public started during his days in Florida. After two national championships and a Heisman trophy, Tebow was the best player in the country and his following grew.

(Kaepernick was the opposite. Despite putting up NCAA records, he was not considered the best player in the country and did not win any major accolades. He played for a smaller school and was not a subject of a lot of media attention.)

Then we started to learn about his devout Christian background and how he would volunteer his time with his parents in the missionary field. Not only that, but the way he constantly talked about God was simply something the American public could not turn away from.

(Kaepernick does come from a Christian background but his off-field story was still a relative unknown at this point.)

Following the scrutiny of his skills leading up to the draft, he became a sideshow in Denver in his rookie year. Could he work out in the NFL? His final three games in his rookie year gave us a glimpse of what was to come.

It wasn’t until his second year when he came in halfway through the year did he lead his team on a miraculous run despite putting up mediocre numbers. His postgame celebration of praying captivated the American public. Why does he win despite sub-par performances? Thus the infatuation with everything he did, especially his #Tebowing, was all the buzz.

(Kaepernick didn’t get his chance to really shine until his second year also. The 49ers weren’t floundering like the Broncos, so Kaepernick didn’t have to do any late-season miraculous comebacks. But the origin of his celebration was fueled by an article attacking his tattoos. Debunking the myth of a white, tattoo-free quarterback, the celebration became a part of our culture.)

In his playoff debut, Tebow broke Twitter with his game-winning overtime touchdown throw. #Tebowing was at an all-time high. Everybody and their mamas was doing it because America didn’t understand it. Not only did this scrutinized player with a very unique background succeed, but he did it while shoving it into the critics’ face. After years of being labeled as a quarterback who couldn’t win, he did just that.

(Kaepernick did go through scrutiny as a quarterback, but his skills were way more refined. He entered the playoffs as a major question mark. Instead of a miracle win, he just thrashed the Packers in record-breaking fashion. His celebration, which he did twice during the game, caught on to the rest of America and now everyone is a craze about the quarterback that we all just discovered.)

Is it fair to compare the two quarterbacks? Not really. Both are extremely different. But there are so many similarities to their rise to stardom (and their celebration). I doubt that #Kaepernicking will be as popular as #Tebowing ever was. Tebow had years of scrutiny in his pocket when he got popular last season. Kaepernick was a relative unknown until he made his first start.

But one thing that Kaepernick has that #Tebowing never got a chance to do was the Championship Game in the playoffs. If the 49ers should win the Super Bowl and Kaepernick gets the opportunity to do his celebration after a touchdown, the #Kaepernicking phenomenon will last longer than what Tebow had.

Tebow didn’t stay in Denver and wasted away in New York. A Super Bowl win cements Kaepernick as a hero and the star of the future for the team. Whatever he does then will be gold.

The more Tebow won, the bigger his celebration grew. The bigger the game, the bigger the craze. The same goes for Kaepernick. If he can get to the Super Bowl and win it, #Kaepernicking will be around for a while. If he doesn’t get that far, it might die out and eventually be lost by summertime. But as of right now, it doesn’t look like it will go anywhere.