During the NFL season, every Sunday is an opportunity. An opportunity for something awesome/terrible/hilarious to happen on a football field, something that immediately can become a certifiable meme. Football is memes, as the old saying goes.
Sometimes, though, they show up when you least expect them.
For instance, five days into the 2017 NFL season, a meme emerged from the one of the unlikeliest of places. Most sideline reporters don’t provide a plethora of pertinent information when they’re called to speak during a broadcast. But then we were introduced to Sergio Dipp, who nervously flubbed his Monday Night Football debut, leading to these internet gems (including one from Sergio).
Sergio Dipp was the first great NFL meme of 2017. Here are others from years past.
The all-time best football memes
1) Manning Face
Peyton Manning, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos is one of the best quarterbacks of all time. His kid brother, Eli Manning of the New York Giants, has won two Super Bowls. But they’re siblings, and man, do they both display similar sourpuss faces when a game is about to be lost.
https://twitter.com/joshkatzowitz/status/909978710434107393
Peyton also has a few good ones.
@PatsKam Peyton Manning face >>>>>>Eli Manning Face pic.twitter.com/A1KR8hwnQ7
— BoSoxJim (@BoSoxJim1) December 12, 2016
2) Super Bowl LI
The 2016 season Super Bowl was one of the most improbable in history, as the Falcons blew a 25-point lead in the final 17 minutes of regulation and allowed the Patriots to squeak out a 34-28 victory. The memes were immediate.
HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES, ROGER? pic.twitter.com/5O3ofMK5zm
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) February 6, 2017
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3) Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl screwup
This wasn’t quite as heartbreaking as the Falcons’ colossal debacle that would occur two years later, but the Seahawks drew plenty of criticism for opting to throw for the winning touchdown vs. the Patriots with seconds left instead of trying to run the ball. The play called by coach Pete Carroll failed, and New England won Super Bowl XLIX. Which immediately led to these.
Seahawks Pete Carroll should of had a Snickers during Super Bowl XLIX, he wasn't himself.He was Steve Spurrier. #NFL pic.twitter.com/oFkIPlIMw9
— James Moore (@Mooresbarber) February 6, 2015
Put that behind Pete Carroll's bed RT @darrenrovell: Malcolm Butler Super Bowl XLIX interception Fathead now on sale pic.twitter.com/R8N43NMZP9
— MetsKevin11 (@MetsKevin11) February 6, 2015
4) David Johnson wanted
This could apply to any top player in the league, but as always: Do NOT get injured in the first week of the season if you’re one of the league’s best running backs.
5) Tebowing
Remember when Tim Tebow won the Broncos a bunch of games in 2011? Remember when he knelt in prayer and started a new trend called Tebowing? The meme got so popular Tebow even trademarked it.
Here was the genesis.
And then this happened.
6) Bradying
Basically made in response to the Tebowing phenomenon—which is OK since Tebowing basically took over for planking—this photo shows Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reacting to his team’s Super Bowl loss in 2012. The internet went wild over it.
https://twitter.com/FunnyFirehose/status/626164625931943937
https://www.facebook.com/Bradying/photos/a.181956258577075.31142.181938531912181/334030620036304/
https://www.facebook.com/Bradying/photos/a.181956258577075.31142.181938531912181/332832200156146
7) Brady courtroom sketch
Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and he’s also mastered the social media game. But he couldn’t contain the internet’s glee when a courtroom artist sketched him during a #Deflategate hearing in 2015.
Here’s what the sketch looked like.
And the memes that came along with it.
https://twitter.com/patrickhedlund/status/631534566407335941
— alex (@steven_lebron) August 12, 2015
DeflateGate is turning into a real thriller pic.twitter.com/KmY3Xv2Bej
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) August 12, 2015
And here's the sketch of Brady arriving in court. pic.twitter.com/b3I2mr68QI
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) August 12, 2015
8) Flaccoing
This meme was only brief. It features Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco on the turf after throwing an interception returned for a touchdown by the opponent.
https://twitter.com/MUTjacob/status/679818791849693184
#flaccoing #BengalsVsRavens pic.twitter.com/kdoqtpDouK
— R. (@thisF6F) September 7, 2014
In the next offseason, though, Flacco signed a contract worth $120.6 million, meaning the meme needed to be updated.
Meanwhile… #Flaccoing @NFLRT pic.twitter.com/4sQmnfC1FL
— Express Football (@NFL_Express) December 29, 2013
All of this begs another meme question: Is Joe Flacco elite?
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9) Marshawn Lynch and Skittles
Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch loves to eat Skittles. Once the world discovered that, the internet couldn’t stop tasting the rainbow.
Marshawn Lynch Vision: pic.twitter.com/p1i3fMuK
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) January 10, 2013
Get you a girl that loves you like Marshawn Lynch loves skittles! pic.twitter.com/woC0YR6Xoz
— Greyson Stuhr (@greyson_stuhr) April 28, 2017
When Marshawn Lynch found out he had skittles waiting in the locker room lol https://t.co/UZumhcDnfN
— 🏈FB on the KNOW (@fb_know) September 11, 2017
10) The Lions are eternally bad
The team from Detroit can’t stop getting roasted.
11) The Browns are eternally worse
The Lions have nothing on the ineptitude of the team from Cleveland.
Worried Browns fans right now… pic.twitter.com/eSBwZCB83G
— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeague) April 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/Terror10_WMC/status/857610151687327745
And what happens when the Browns win?
And the @Browns win #christmasmiracle #SDvsCLE pic.twitter.com/712DWoyyK8
— Jonathan Adkins (@Producer_Jon) December 24, 2016
12) A Gronking To Remember
You probably know Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Gronkiest Gronk to ever Gronk across the world. In 2014, a woman named Lacey Noonan wrote an erotic ebook about Gronkowski called, A Gronking To Remember. It was three years ago, but people can’t stop talking about the book.
https://twitter.com/uncorkeddc/status/862760869452812289
https://twitter.com/TheQueenofFF/status/901557448607240193
The world is literally on fire and yet, I still think of A Gronking to Remember when I see Gronkowski. pic.twitter.com/4coUvV8Yzc
— Manda Collins 🐈🐶🔍💕 (@MandaCollins) September 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/cliftonsutters/status/895499617218973697
13) The Dildo incident
This was probably the greatest moment ever to occur during a Bills game. Some heroic soul threw a dildo on the field in October 2016. The resulting meme penetrated our souls.
There's a dick on the play! #NEvsBuf pic.twitter.com/mxhsMMOZ5k
— Travon (@Travon) October 30, 2016
Dildo launch from @hub_nation 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/nfL4tI9UVG
— Dillon Hayes (@Dillon_Hayes) October 30, 2016
BREAKING: The dildo was intended for Tom Brady, not Chris Hogan: pic.twitter.com/w6Fm2nFYl2
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) October 31, 2016
And with the 27th pick of the #NFLDraft the Buffalo #Bills select…. A Dildo!!! pic.twitter.com/NOvaN2YcWg
— Jeffery Gauthier (@Jazzy9Lives) April 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/TJPK21/status/818253398445170688
I'm assuming "full Bills Fan Gear" includes tables, a bottle of Fireball and a dildo. https://t.co/UHylga8PaW
— No Bawk Sherlock (@DukeOfAwesome) January 2, 2017
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance