Memes of the 2013 NBA Playoffs - Splash Brothers

As the 2012-13 NBA regular season neared its end, players from the playoff bound teams became more intense in pushing their bodies to the next level in the quest of championship glory. One of the surprise packets of the 2012-13 season was the Golden State Warriors. Boasting one of the youngest squads in the league, many fans and experts were not expecting the Warriors to become contenders for at least another couple seasons. Lead by guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors captured the 6th seed in the Western Conference, defeating the much fancied 3rd seed Denver Nuggets, before losing to eventual NBA finalists, the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals.

The play of Curry and Thompson captured the imagination of basketball fans. In particular their accuracy from beyond the three point received much adoration from fans, which spawned the nickname "Splash Brothers". The image macro is inspired by popular video game Super Mario Smash Brothers. And of course, like all things viral within social media, it is transformed into a meme. Whilst the image macros died off after the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs, the influence of internet memes on popular culture and broadcast sport is evident.

The "Splash Brothers" image macro was quickly adopted by the NBA in their advertising materials for Warriors games during the playoffs. The "Splash Brothers" image macro can be considered as an example of how people use and dissect elements from popular culture in order to make sense of the world. Additionally, this is another instance in which the capability of web 2.0 tools has enabled audiences to spread ideas and trends on a global scale further illuminating the notion of the ever-thinning line between official and unofficial, producer and audience, and, online and offline culture.