Apparently, having a Super Bowl ring doesn’t count for much anymore — at least in Social Media. With all the hype and hoopla surrounding Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, one would think that he would be near or at the top of Social Media conversation among NFL quarterbacks, but would anybody have expected Tebow to have generated more Social Media and Twitter mentions this season than Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Tom Brady combined? As improbable as that sounds, that is exactly what happened. The chart below compares Tim Tebow to the other quarterbacks remaining in the NFL playoffs according to daily Social Media and Twitter Volume from the start of the 2011 regular season through January 11, 2012.

Considering that Tebow wasn’t even a backup quarterback at the start of the season, this is impressive. His appeal has grown steadily throughout the regular season like the development of a strong hurricane. The chart below clearly shows his progression. In September, nobody was really talking about him as Tebow found himself stuck behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the Broncos’ depth chart. Then, as the Broncos stumbled to a 1-4 start, coach John Fox rolled the dice and announced that Tebow would be the starting quarterback. The rest was history. Tebow went on to lead the Broncos to exhilarating comeback wins over the Dolphins, Jets, Chargers, Vikings and Bears, while winning his first NFL playoff game by sniping an 80-yard touchdown pass to knock out the Steelers. His knack for late-game heroics caused his legend to grow, accounting for his upward trend in Social Media and on Twitter.

For all his Social Media popularity, Tebow has become one of the most polarizing figures in sports. He is well-known for his fervent Christian beliefs, publicly expressing his faith and thanking God and Jesus after each win. For this, he has been accused of wearing his religion on his sleeve. People have also attacked him for his quarterbacking ability, arguing that his mediocre throwing mechanics limit his ceiling in the NFL. At one point in the season, the Denver Post called Tebow ‘the worst quarterback in the NFL.’ But, for the same reasons, people love him. Those in the religious community have expressed appreciation for Tebow’s strong faith, and his lack of natural ability has become a main reason for his appeal. Everyone always loves the underdog.

In a recent ESPN poll, Tebow was named America’s most popular athlete. That may be, but you have also have to account for negative perception, which the ESPN poll doesn’t include. In our metrics, Tebow ranked third among the quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs for Social Media and Twitter Sentiment.

The Share of Voice charts below illustrate how polarizing Tebow is. While he generated 65.6 percent of all positive Social Media and Twitter mentions among the remaining playoff quarterbacks, he accumulated a larger share of negative mentions.

Still, the data shows that Tebow is generally liked more than not, just not universally loved. The question is how long will America’s love affair with Tebow last? While many love him for his strong faith, the most significant reason for his popularity is because of his on-field success. As his Volume chart shows, nobody cared about him when he was stuck on the bench. He needed to win first, and then all the other aspects of his persona bumped him to the top. As long as Tebow does his part to help the Broncos keep winning, expect Tebowmania to stick around for a while.

Note: Twitter data is based on a 10-percent representative sample.

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