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.

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