Best point guard in the NBA

The term "viral" has often been used to describe distinct practices and trends, ranging from spread through word-of-mouth to video remixes on YouTube. Viral media has had a profound effect on contemporary culture with trends and opinions being formed and spread like viruses, creating buzz via social networks and mobilising consumers and distributors, audiences and producers, friends and family to participate and discuss.

"Media viruses" spread through digital networks the same way biological viruses spread through the body or a community. Instead of travelling along a biological circulatory system, a media virus travels and spreads through networks within contemporary media. The core of the virus may be an event, invention, technology, opinion, scandal, rumour, image, a song or particular cultural figures. Any type of media virus will capture audience attention, resulting in the longevity of the virus through its replication, reproduction and spreadability. Once media viruses have been firmly attached within digital communities, its hidden agendas begins to spread within datastreams in the form of "ideological code, not genes, but a conceptual equivalent we now call "memes' (Rushkoff 1995, 9 - 10).

This week, the trending topic among NBA meme communities has been the "best point guard in the league". This meme originated from New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton's comments claiming to be a more skilful player than his predecessor Jeremy Lin. Fans debated as to who really is currently the best point guard in the NBA by comparing player statistics and achievements through memes. Whether or not this particular theme will achieve the longevity associated with more successful memes remains to be seen, but, what is evident is that just about any notion within contemporary culture can capture the attention and generavitity of people. Felton by no means is a "poor" player but he certainly is not considered as one of the game’s elites, and at best, has never been more of a role player, and yet, a seemingly harmless comment can spark the attention of an entire online fan base. What will be interesting in the coming days (or weeks) is if this theme will continue to mutate or will it slowly fade away into obscurity like many already have.

JaVale McGee

Denver Nuggets player JaVale McGee is considered by basketball experts as one of the game's bright young stars. However, in recent years, as a result of his eccentric playing style which has led to a host of ill-advised decisions during games, he has developed an unenviable reputation among fans as a careless player. Some of McGee's ill-advised plays have consisted of: attempting flashy dunks during crucial games, attempting difficult shots in order to improve his own game statistics and manoeuvring himself for a defensive play while the rest of his team is in an offensive transition on the other end of the basketball court. Video clips of such bizarre plays have made its way onto YouTube and have become a popular source for comedic montages. Likewise, McGee has also become the target of fan mocking through memes in which his image has become a stereotypical signifier of the "foolish" or "failure" identity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

McKayla is not impressed

American gymnast McKayla Maroney was favoured to win the gold medal in the women's vault competition at the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately Maroney's fall in her second attempt would mean the best result she could achieve was a silver medal. During the medal ceremony, Maroney clearly disappointed by her fall, stood on the podium with her arms crossed matched by the look of disappoint on her face. Soon after, the image of Maroney's disappointed face was turned into a meme by online comedians and sports fans alike. Known as "McKayla is not impressed", Maroney's face has graced historical cultural images such as the Mars rover landing, The Leaning Tower of Piza and the Taj Mahal, to name a few. The meme has spread like wildfire, going viral almost instantly after the medal presentations. And in typical meme behaviour, Maroney's image is imposed with text or photoshopped into a comical scenario, beyond the sport of gymnastics.

Of course, this viral image has also found its influence on the world of basketball fandom, where Maroney's facial expression has been incorporated into current basketball events or existing memes

 

 

 

 
 

Don't bring your girl to the NBA

The memes below exhibits sport's relevance as a cultural staple within society. It is used to convey messages and popular opinions regarding a limitless range of cultural issues, many of which are beyond the world of sports. For instance, there are memes mocking the difficulties faced by the United State government's extended search for Osama Bin Laden. On a less serious tone, contemporary trends of scrutinising singer Justin Bieber's sexuality is also evident within sports memes. Conversely, it is not unusual for sports memes to incorporate images from other aspects of culture, such as from the world of music, film, television or politics.