LeBroning Fad Joins Ranks of Tebowing and Kaepernicking

You know what we really need, you guys?

A new sports-related fad that is pretty cheesy, will sweep the nation for about seven forgettable seconds and ultimately will be remembered as "that thing those kids were doing on the Interwebs, because today's youths are misguided. GET OFF MY LAWN!"

No, we don't need to bring Tebowing back. Please lord, don't bring Tebowing back.

And we don't need to pretend like Kaepernicking was a big thing and revive that either.

And for heaven's sake, please don't go attempt to bring planking—or as I called it, "being a homeless person for a few seconds"—back.

You don't need to bring any of those back, folks, because LeBroning is sweeping the nation...or, you know, is sweeping a few high schools and malls. Check it out below. 

While this is an easy joke, I found myself chuckling at these kids a few times. I mean, LeBron James certainly has been correctly accused of being a flopper on more than one occasion, and some of these kids flop in a more realistic way than him.

Just go to YouTube and type in "LeBron flop." It provides hours and hours of fun.

The man has faked being pushed out of bounds and being poked in the eye, and he has the uncanny ability to transform from a 250-pound man to a feather fluttering about in the breeze.

Coming to Broadway this spring is LeBron James' one-man show, "A Feather in the Lane." Critics have hailed it as "The best one-man show from a sports figure since Mike Tyson talked about his life or whatever he did. Also, have there ever been any other one-man shows from sports figures? Who knows, but LeBron's entry in this extremely specific genre is definitely a top-two effort!" Tickets start at $480.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Here's the thing—while LeBron himself has denied being a flopper—and it must be hard for him to stifle any giggles while he says that—he has admitted that the practice can actually be an effective strategy, as he told Brian Windhorst of ESPN last March.

Windhorst wrote, "LeBron James vehemently denies he's a flopper but openly recognizes it as an effective strategy."

James said that players have been "trying to get an advantage" for years.

"Any way you can get an advantage over the opponent to help your team win, so be it," Windhorst reported him as saying.

If you've got to break someone's leg to get an advantage, YOU BREAK THAT FREAKING LEG. Okay, okay, so LeBron didn't mean that. He was just saying any way to gain a competitive edge within the spirit of the rules is acceptable. 

And cheating to fool a referee into making a call is clearly in the spirit of the rules (cough).

LeBroning probably won't have much staying power, mostly because kids are going to eventually get tired of flinging themselves to the ground. Maybe.

Besides, a new trend—such as J.R. Smithing, where you sit on a bench for 48 minutes and brood the entire time—will surely emerge.

Man, I can't wait for those scintillating YouTube videos.