Here's a Philly pretzel you can buy by the sack

Tim Tebow has held many titles in his career:

Heisman Trophy winner. NFL analyst. New Eagles quarterback.

Add one more: Pretzel King.

The Tim Tebow pretzel, introduced Monday by Philly Pretzel Factory, which is twisted in the likeness of the football player in his signature kneeling-to-pray pose, has generated more buzz and sales for a customized pretzel than any other, said Marty Ferrell, president of Philly Pretzel Factory.

The image of the pretzel has gone viral online, generating thousands of views and retweets on social media. The NFL Network, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and CBSsports.com, among others, have picked up on it.

And the privately held Philly Pretzel Factory, which has 85 stores throughout the Philadelphia area, 46 in New Jersey, and is located in seven other states, has been riding the wave of its popularity.

"It's been great," Ferrell said. "It seems like people either love him or hate him. He's a polarizing figure.

"We are not promoting it at all," Ferrell said, "just twisting a pretzel in the shape of Tebow, and people are buying it. People are captivated by his strong faith."

The top-selling store for the Tim Tebow pretzel has been the original store at 7368 Frankford Ave. in the city's Mayfair section, which sits across the street from the Mayfair Diner.

"It's been constant all day," store manager Amy Lord said Tuesday. Customers "are also calling to see if we are selling it all week, which we have every intention of doing."

By 1 p.m., she said the store had sold 207 Tim Tebow pretzels.

By 6 p.m. the number was up to 320.

Among those who stood in line at the Mayfair store was Ashley Cesario, 16, of Northeast Philly. She bought four Tim Tebow pretzels at $1 a piece just after 3:30 p.m. for her family.

"I'm a fan of his," she said. "I like how he's not afraid to show what he believes."

Another customer, Tom Rafter, 72, of Mayfair, walked to the store from home to buy one for each of his five grandsons.

"It's quite a conversation topic right now," Rafter said. "One of my grandsons did the Tebow pose, and I know he'll enjoy this."

Ferrell said the idea for the pretzel happened spontaneously late Sunday after word began to spread that Tebow might get picked up by the Eagles, which happened Monday.

The company's chief executive officer, Dan DiZio, sent out a mass e-mail to employees.

"He said, 'Why not a signature pose of Tebow welcoming him to Philly?' " Ferrell said.

"We have gotten a lot of requests to ship to Florida, but we don't do that," due to freshness issues.

"We still sell the traditional pretzel, our top seller," Ferrell said.

Ferrell said Philly Pretzel Factory does images around the holidays, including St. Patrick's Day with clover-shaped pretzels. It does customized pretzels and sports teams' logos as well.

But nothing has caught fire as fast as the Tebow pretzel, he said - so fast that he didn't have enough time to have a system in place to track sales since it debuted Monday.

"He's more than a sports star, but a celebrity - even for a potential third-string quarterback."

He said the pretzel also would give the store something to showcase this weekend for National Pretzel Day on Sunday.