History Memes / Sports

* [[WebVideo/UrinatingTree Days of our Steelers]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Over the years, many fans can't help but notice the amount of drama that comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was brought to light by a Steeler fan, WebVideo/UrinatingTree, where there was so much drama going on with the team in 2018 that he was able to make an almost two hour long [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDOgN6Q5xyo compilation video]] detailing all the drama. Particularly from the team's three "[[FanNickname Killer B's]]," Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown.[[/labelnote]]

* "NEWMAN!!"[[labelnote:explanation]]More associated with NASCAR ads featuring a group of drivers collectively known as "Gillette Young Guns" (Gillette was a partner sponsor of NASCAR at the time), if a Gillette-branded razor was used to prank one of the drivers, it was usually Ryan Newman who did it. Ryan was completely innocent of the pranks in the commercial for the Fusion Power Phantom razor (the actual culprit that time was Kasey Kahne), while Wrestling/JohnCena yelled it in the commercial for the Fusion Power Phenom razor when the Young Guns proved to be skilled wrestlers (Newman's move that caused Cena to yell "NEWMAN!!" was a diving splash to the outside as John lay in the wreckage of the table Carl Edwards dropkicked John off the ring apron through).[[/labelnote]]
** Ryan Newman vs. flying cars at restrictor-plate tracks[[labelnote:explanation]]During his NASCAR career, Ryan Newman had really bad luck at Daytona and Talladega, often because he was usually part of the equation somewhere when a car goes airborne in a crash. On at least three occasions, Newman himself was the one whose car went airborne.[[/labelnote]]

* Every Pirates-Phillies game starts with POOP. [[labelnote:Explanation]]NBC Sport's MLB score bug has the visitor's logo followed by their score, then the home team's score followed by their logo. Whenever the two Pennsylvaian teams play each other, the [[https://twitter.com/gifs_baseball/status/1552810094227865600 resulting score bug]] is "P-0|0-P" [[/labelnote]]

*** In the late 2010s, it became common for people online to post "ROLL TIDE!" whenever the topic of incest is brought up, second only to posting [[Music/LynyrdSkynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama!"]]

* Retired NBA player Scalabrine, now a Celtics TV analyst, seemed to be a RidiculouslyAverageGuy, mainly because he was a benchwarmer who didn't see much play in serious games. However, Boston and Chicago fans liked him very much as they have edited him posing with his 2008 ring in many online memes and have elevated him to MemeticBadass levels. It also helps that Scalabrine had his own show [[https://youtu.be/bpiu8UtQ-6E "The Scalabrine Challenge"]] where he challenges normal people to a 1v1 game and hands them a CurbstompBattle every time, demonstrating that a NBA benchwarmer was [[NormalFishInATinyPond above 99% of the population in terms of basketball skills]].

* Boston and Brian Scalabrine posing with his 2008 ring. Scalabrine, now a Celtics TV analyst, was an average player or RidiculouslyAverageGuy. However, Boston and Chicago fans liked him very much. They have had him posing with his ring in many online memes, and have elevated him to MemeticBadass levels.

* How does this affect Lebron James's legacy? [[labelnote:Explanation]]Lebron James is generally considered to be a contender for the greatest basketball player of all time, and since he is an active player as of 2023, he has some opportunity of securing this title. As such, the NBA media like [[https://youtu.be/NLjLqOynhcA ESPN]] tends to discuss how his performances in both the regular season and playoffs affect his NBA legacy. Eventually, the phrase degenerated into an off-topic, spam response to discussions that have nothing to do with Lebron or the NBA. For example, one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBP5NUDP28A video]] dryly analyzes if the Fall of Constantinople affected Lebron's legacy.[[/labelnote]]

*** The 2018-19 roster contained Michael Beasley (who's memetically [[TheStoner high all the time]]), Lance Stephenson (known for his air guitar dances and most especially blowing on [=LeBron=]'s ear during the height of the Heat-Pacers rivalry), Rajon Rondo (for his abrasive personality and taking ''TabletopGame/ConnectFour'' [[SeriousBusiness seriously]]), two-time Shaqtin' a Fool MVP [=JaVale McGee=], Lonzo Ball (whose [[SportsDad father [=LaVar=]]] really loves the spotlight), and of course, [=LeBron=] himself.

* Plumbers and Milkmen.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Some modern fans discredit retired NBA greats, such as '60s superstars Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, by suggesting that they could only dominate in a weak era of basketball where players weren't too focused on basketball and had side jobs.[[/labelnote]]

* Chris Paul hits a huge three to cut the lead down to 42.[[labelnote:Explanation]]This was the title of [[https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/uql0aw/highlight_chris_paul_hits_a_huge_three_to_cut_the/ a video]] sarcastically congratulating Chris Paul for making a good play in an inevitable series loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 playoffs. Variants later arose in other sports communities to ridicule players trying to invoke a CurbStompCushion.[[/labelnote]]

* Chris Paul Hits A Huge 3 To Cut The Lead To 42.[[labelnote:Explanation]]This was the title of [[https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/uql0aw/highlight_chris_paul_hits_a_huge_three_to_cut_the/ a video]] sarcastically congratulating Chris Paul for making a good play in an inevitable series loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 playoffs. Variants later arose in other sports communities to ridicule players trying to invoke a CurbStompCushion.[[/labelnote]]

** Platform/{{Twitch}} streamers and [=SoundCloud=] rappers.[[note]]A rebuttal to the parent meme above, noting that modern NBA players have side gigs as well.[[/labelnote]]

* ... Before Derrick Rose came back [[labelnote:Explanation]] Derrick Rose, then-star for the Chicago Bulls and now with the Detroit Pistons, has been injured frequently. Anytime anyone makes a career comeback or something in the world significant happens, they have done so before Derrick Rose came back. [[/labelnote]]

* Flacco is elite. || [[FanNickname Elite Dragon]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to Joe Flacco being a quarterback who's been mediocre for the most part other than several streaks of brilliance, such as the 2012 Super Bowl run, many like to joke about Flacco's "elite" status in anything that's related to him. It's to the point that people compare him to a sleeping dragon that wakes up every once in a while.[[/labelnote]]

* [[WebVideo/UrinatingTree Days of our Steelers]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Over the years, many fans can't help but notice the amount of drama that comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was brought to light by a Steeler fan, WebVideo/UrinatingTree, where there was so much drama going on with the team in 2018 that he was able to make an almost two hour long compilation video detailing all the drama. Particularly from the team's three "[[FanNickname Killer B's]]," Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown.[[/labelnote]]

* [[WebVideo/UrinatingTree Days of our Steelers]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Over the years, many fans can't help but notice the amount of drama that comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was brought to light by a Steeler fan, WebVideo/UrinatingTree, where there was so much drama going on with the team in 2018 that he was able to make an almost two hour long compilation video detailing all the drama. Particularly from the team's three "[[FanNickname Killer B's]]," Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown. The Steeler drama from the wide receivers has been especially noteworthy. Whether it's Antonio Brown, [=JuJu=] Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, you name it. Their wide receivers are almost always stirring up trouble.[[/labelnote]]

* [[WebVideo/UrinatingTree Days of our Steelers]] || Steeler WR Divas [[labelnote:Explanation]]Over the years, many fans can't help but notice the amount of drama that comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Especially when it comes to their wide receivers. Whether it's Antonio Brown, [=JuJu=] Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, you name it. Their wide receivers are almost always stirring up trouble.[[/labelnote]]

* Imagine if Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout played for the same team![[labelnote:Explanation]]During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were two outstanding players for Japan and the USA respectively, the former being named MVP when Japan ultimately won the tournament (also of note, the former struck out the latter to end the final game). At the time, Ohtani and Trout were teammates on the Los Angeles Angels, a notoriously underperforming team that has become a MemeticLoser in modern baseball. The contrast between the dominance of the two players individually during the WBC and the abysmal performance of the team they play on together led to ''heaps'' of jokes abusing the Angels (yet again).[[/labelnote]]

* Imagine if Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout played for the same team![[labelnote:Explanation]]During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout were two outstanding players for Japan and the USA respectively, the former being named MVP when Japan ultimately won the tournament (also of note, the former struck out the latter to end the final game). Ohtani and Trout are teammates on the Los Angeles Angels, a notoriously underperforming team that has become a MemeticLoser in modern baseball. The contrast between the dominance of the two players individually during the WBC and the abysmal performance of the team they play on together led to ''heaps'' of jokes abusing the Angels (yet again).[[/labelnote]]
* Tungsten Arm O'Doyle[[labelnote:Explanation]]In May 2021, one Matt English tweeted the following, commenting on the Angels' ineptitude despite the presence of Ohtani and Trout: "every time I see an Angels highlight it's like 'Mike Trout hit three homes ''[sic]'' runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since "Tungsten Arm" O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3'". Since then, references to the totally fictional O'Doyle have frequently been made in response to games in which Ohtani (and sometimes Trout) achieved a remarkable feat in an Angels loss. It's become identified enough with Ohtani that the Baseball Reference website now has "Tungsten Arm O'Doyle" as a redirect to Ohtani's page.[[/labelnote]]

* "There are two sides out there today, but only one of them is playing cricket." [[labelnote:Explanation]]Quote from Australian captain Bill Woodfull during the 1932-33 "Bodyline" cricket series between Australia and England, used to refer to unsportsmanlike play.[[/labelnote]]

* 28-3[[labelnote:Explanation]]In Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons blew a 25 point lead over the Patriots despite having dominated the first two-thirds of the game. Aside from being one of the most infamous chokes in sports history, the game immediately became a ShockingDefeatLegacy for the Falcons, who swiftly gained a reputation for managing to lose games they should've won. You can expect the score to be brought up any time a team gains a 25-point lead as a reminder that the lead is ''not'' safe, especially if the Falcons are the team in question. Often gets combined with the "Never forget Team X blew an X point lead" meme.[[/labelnote]]
* 33-0[[labelnote:Explanation]]Similar to the previous meme, the Minnesota Vikings during the 2022 regular season managed to pull off an insane comeback after starting off down 33-points against the Indianapolis Colts. It's up there as one of the biggest chokes of all time, and even has a Wikipedia page dedicated to it.[[/labelnote]]

* Antonio Brown's LongList [[labelnote:Explanation]]The amount of trouble that the wide-receiver, Antonio Brown, has stirred up over the years is nothing short of legendary. It makes for such a LongList that users of Reddit have [[https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/164jht2/si_my_cte_acting_up_f_yall_antonio_browns_latest/jy8g9d2/ continued to add to it]] every time Brown does something questionable that makes the news.[[/labelnote]]

* [[WebVideo/UrinatingTree Days of our Steelers]] / Steeler WR Divas [[labelnote:Explanation]]Over the years, many fans can't help but notice the amount of drama that comes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Especially when it comes to their wide receivers. Whether it's Antonio Brown, [=JuJu=] Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, you name it. Their wide receivers are almost always stirring up trouble.[[/labelnote]]

* The [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/manningface Manning Face]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]An iconic picture of Peyton Manning that's usually used for internet [[{{Troll}} trolling]]. Someone asks for a picture of a certain event or incident? Another person would would bring up a link that leads them to the Manning Face instead.[[/labelnote]]

* Fuck Clemson. [[note]]The rallying cry of college football blog [[http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/ Every Day Should Be Saturday]], or EDSBS for short.[[/note]]
** PAWWWWWWWLLLL [[note]]:EDSBS's mockery of the average [[http://www.finebaum.com/home.asp Paul Finebaum Radio Network]] listener, whose audience can be most charitably described as "redneck". PAWWWWWWWLLLL is also an EDSBS nickname for Finebaum himself.[[/note]]
** [[http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2011/7/19/2282724/the-curious-index-7-19-2011 Craig James killed five hookers while at SMU.]]
*** This one has achieved AscendedMeme status, as late Mississippi State coach Mike Leach, whose feud with James was quite well-known, [[http://deadspin.com/5908758/mike-leach-appears-to-have-autographed-a-copy-of-his-book-with-a-craig-james-killed-five-hookers-reference signed copies of his book with "CJK5H".]][[labelnote:Explanation]]When Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech, Craig James and his son played a major role in his firing.[[/labelnote]]
** ROLL TIDE WHAT'S A ________? [[note]]Another EDSBS creation, this time making fun of clueless Alabama fans. The blank space can be filled in by common information (ROLL TIDE WHAT'S A COMPUTER?), mildly complicated words (ROLL TIDE WHAT'S A QUESADILLA?) or basic football strategy (ROLL TIDE WHAT'S A SECONDARY?).[[/note]]

* WE WANT BAMA![[labelnote:explanation]]The Alabama Crimson Tide football team, especially coached by Nick Saban, is commonly regarded as one of the best in the country.[[/labelnote]]

* [[http://i.imgur.com/0NG9q.jpg Kirk Herbstreit's earthquake face]]. While Herbstreit was being interviewed by Chris Fowler after the 2011 Oklahoma State–Kansas State football game, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake (the biggest in Oklahoma history) occurred and Herbstreit looked scared out of his mind while on air, yet didn't say a word until Fowler (finally) stopped talking to let him answer a question.

* Couging it[[labelnote:Explanation]]Named for the Washington State Cougars, which had many instances of playing well for the first parts of a game, only to seriously choke on the fourth quarter and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.[[/labelnote]]

* The Cheez-INT Bowl. [[labelnote:Explanation]] The 2018 Cheez-It Bowl between Cal and TCU infamously saw the two teams throw for a combined 9 interceptions, including 6 in the first half.[[/labelnote]]
* [[ProductPlacement "Servpro.]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_First_Responder_Bowl Like it never even happened."]][[labelnote:Explanation]]The 2018 First Responder Bowl became the first ever bowl to be canceled due to weather, leading to the sponsor's ad slogan (they specialize in fire and water restoration) being quoted humorously.[[/labelnote]]

* "They had us in the first half, I'm not gonna lie."[[labelnote:Explanation]]East View Patriots high school football player turns [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u35MwQ_zrBI a post-game interview into an inspirational speech]] and meme.[[/labelnote]]

* Clemsoning[[labelnote:Explanation]]Named for the Clemson Tigers, a college team that has been known, especially in the late 2000s and early 2010s, to have amassed a great degree of success early on, [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut only to choke in critical games]] and dashing their title hopes in the process. Though they didn't "Clemson" in the 2016 and 2018 seasons, winning the College Football Playoff title game.[[/labelnote]]
* [[http://www.diehardsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Ba8irfrCYAAJgnb.jpg Sad Urban Meyer eating Papa John's pizza]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A picture of retired Ohio State coach Urban Meyer after his loss against Michigan State in the 2013 Big Ten Championship game, his first loss as the coach of the Buckeyes, where he is eating Papa John's pizza. This picture would usually appear whenever the Buckeyes lose a game, especially the games that were rather embarrassing losses, which is not very often given how highly successful the team was during Meyer's tenure.[[/labelnote]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqv48MwEbaQ WHOA HE HAS TROUBLE WITH THE SNAP]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Originated from the ending of the Michigan vs. Michigan State game on October 17, 2015, where Michigan punter Blake O'Neill [[NeverLiveItDown whiffs the punt attempt]] near the end of the game, allowing Michigan State to win on a punt recovery (which ended up causing a season-ending injury for the scorer, Jalen Watts-Jackson). Part of what makes this line from play-by-play announcer Sean [=McDonough=] memorable is due to [[InopportuneVoiceCracking the voice crack]] while he was calling the very last play of the game. This became a common meme within the college football subreddit, as exemplified in [[https://twitter.com/RedditCFB/status/1060613472487129094 one Trash Talk Thursday thread]], thanks to the NarmCharm of the line.[[/labelnote]]
* #9WINDIANA[[labelnote:Explanation]]A meme originating from Indiana Hoosiers blog Crimson Quarry that explains how [[https://www.crimsonquarry.com/2019/6/24/18716427/indiana-is-going-to-win-nine-games-theres-nothing-you-can-do-about-it Indiana could win 9 games in the 2019 college football season]] due to a somewhat easy schedule and the author claiming to be drunk when he came up with #9Windiana. The Hoosiers, long known for [[ButtMonkey being perennial doormats of the Big Ten]], became {{Memetic Badass}}es after the blog was posted with some people [[FanOfUnderdog even cheering them on.]] This nearly became HilariousInHindsight as Indiana actually had their best finish since 1993, but ultimately did not win nine games as they lost to Tennessee in the Gator Bowl by one point, resulting in an 8-5 finish.[[/labelnote]]

* The Shoe Throw[[labelnote:Explanation]]The 2020 meeting between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators featured an infamous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Gators where cornerback Marco Wilson threw LSU tight end Kole Taylor's shoe, turning what was going to be an LSU fourth down into a first down, eventually allowing the Tigers to make the game-winning 57-yard field goal in the fog. This drew plenty of jokes about the shoe throw, such as the Gators [[https://twitter.com/OleMissEvie/status/1338178495806050305 throwing a shoe at head coach Dan Mullen]], referencing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-pChpsfiqU the shoe throw scene]] in ''[[Film/AustinPowers Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery]]'', and even combining it with [[https://twitter.com/allday_ajking/status/1337973038013353987 the shoe throw at George W. Bush.]][[/labelnote]]
* #11 Ohio State[[labelnote:Explanation]]Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney had the Ohio State Buckeyes, who his team would face in a College Football playoff semifinal, ranked Ohio State #11 in his coaches poll because he believed a team who had only played six games did not deserve a shot in the College Football Playoff, raising some eyebrows. Naturally, after Ohio State defeated Clemson in a 49-28 blowout in what could be seen by some as LaserGuidedKarma, Dabo would be roasted by many people including [[https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1345232692590370816 Buckeyes fan]] UsefulNotes/LeBronJames. This would also [[https://twitter.com/11W/status/1345237632528371712 result in jokes that Clemson really did lose to the #11 ranked team]] instead of the #3 ranked team. Even Ohio State players [[https://twitter.com/T_23_baller/status/1345256895536357376 got in on the joke after the win.]][[/labelnote]]

* Bishop Sycamore[[labelnote:Explanation]]On August 29, 2021, ESPN aired a high school football game between the IMG Academy powerhouse high school sports academy in Bradenton, Florida and the relatively unknown Bishop Sycamore High School that was considered located in Columbus, Ohio. Despite the unknown nature of Bishop Sycamore, they were somehow convinced to be a part of the finale match for ESPN's 2021 High School Kickoff series. During the game (which became a blowout match favoring the IMG Academy by a landslide, eventually ending with a 58-0 score), the ESPN announcers calling the game started questioning the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore's Centurions players, to the point of saying this match is like 4-star and 5-star talented players going up against a junior varsity team. Later research on them eventually revealed a crazy rabbit hole that ultimately confirmed that Bishop Sycamore was nothing more than a scam on young, hopeful high school football players that had lost out on their money and in turn were not considered even good football players. Bishop Sycamore is now labelled as the football equivalent of frauds or a scam in the sport going forward.[[/labelnote]]

* Punt Bama Punt[[labelnote:Explanation]]The 1972 Iron Bowl featured an unbeaten Alabama team gunning for a national title. With 10 minutes to go, the Crimson Tide had a 16–0 lead. Auburn finally got on the scoreboard with a field goal, and forced Alabama to punt on the next possession. Bill Newton blocked Greg Gantt's punt, and David Langner ran it in for a touchdown, with the extra point cutting the lead to 16–10. A few minutes later, Newton blocked ''another'' Gantt punt, and Langner again recovered it and ran it in for a TD. The extra point gave Auburn the lead, and a Langner interception sealed the game for the Tigers and ended Bama's national title hopes.[[/labelnote]]
* Kick Bama Kick[[labelnote:Explanation]]While the 1972 Iron Bowl was not kind to Alabama's punter, the 2013 edition was unkind to the Crimson Tide kickers. Cade Foster, the main kicker, missed three kicks, leading Bama to insert redshirt freshman Adam Griffith to kick what they hoped to be the game-winning field goal in regulation. It did win the game in regulation... for Auburn, as a ProperlyParanoid Gus Malzahn put senior defensive back and return specialist Chris Davis in the back of the end zone in the event the kick fell short (which it did, allowing Davis to run 109 yards for the game-winning touchdown). As you might guess, "Kick Bama Kick" was a call-back to "Punt Bama Punt".[[/labelnote]]
* The Circle of Suck [[labelnote:Explanation]]The schools of the Pac-12 Conference, which bills itself as the "Conference of Champions", have without fail [[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1005531555369852968/1041260032240652308/IMG_1337.jpg ended up losing to the same teams every year despite their performance for the rest of the season]].[[/labelnote]]