Kaepernicking

Definition - What does Kaepernicking mean?

Kaepernicking is a photo fad or internet meme that quickly became viral following the 2012-13 NFC Division Playoffs between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. The meme is all about Colin Kaepernick, a 49ers quarterback, who after a touchdown celebrated his victory by flexing his right arm and kissing his tattooed bicep. After which, fans began posting pictures of themselves mimicking Kaepernick’s pose in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Kaepernick then retweeted some of the fan’s photos.

Techopedia explains Kaepernicking

The meme apparently started in the 9^th of December 2012 when the @NFL_Memes Twitter feed posted a photo macro of Kaepernick in his signature pose featuring a caption which read "Score a touchdown, kiss your tattoo!" at the top and a "#KAEPERNICKING" hashtag at the bottom. Within the span of a month, the tweet was retweeted more than 350 times and garnered 125 favorites. On the same day of the @NFL_Memes tweet, Colin Kaepernick himself retweeted it followed by a response stating "love my tats even if you don’t."

This meme or photo fad actually has its origins in "Planking" and is simply considered as a variation of that. It is the latest coming from the NFL or Football scene, with the last one being "Griffining", with other notables memes "Tebowing", "Bradying", and "Gronking". However, the action itself is nothing new as many people and even other professional athletes have performed this action prior to it becoming a meme/fad, most notable of which is NBA star Ron Artest (Metta World Peace), and pro wrestler Scott Steiner.