The Olympics began one week ago. Since then, we’ve seen close races, devastating bike crashes, great shots, insane gymnastics stuff, tears, laughter, and blue pools turn green. But, more importantly, we’ve seen some memes. Many, many memes Here are the best so far. (See how we resisted a stupid joke about taking home the gold in meme-astics?)
Michael Phelps’s Game Face
South African swimmer Chad le Clos, who beat Michael Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly final in 2012, made a major mistake this week when he decided to shadow box in front of Phelps before the pair’s semi-final race in the same event. The taunting sent Phelps into a focused fury, which he used to absolutely crush le Clos and everyone else in the race. But more memorable than the Gold Medal (Phelps’s 20th) was the meme inspired by Phelps’s insane pre-race face.
https://twitter.com/ChiBDM/status/762836153032581121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/xmasape/status/762837646385160192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
When you drive all the way to Chick-fil-a and then realize it's a Sunday #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/po2gSZ31Uz
— Justin Macmahan (@JustinMacmahan) August 9, 2016
The Butt Fuchers of the German Field Hockey Team
Linus Butt and Florian Fuchs play for the German field hockey team. On Saturday, the German team defeated Canada 6-2, but the real story of the game was the photo below, which the immature among you have already realized says, “Butt Fuchs.” Grow up.
Obviously, it would be hugely childish & wrong to chuckle at Linus & Florian, the backbone of Germany's hockey team. pic.twitter.com/jn1lJESmkE
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) August 7, 2016
Wes Anderson Wrestling
https://twitter.com/ZackPearlman/status/763417316251963392
I agree.
Aly Raisman’s Nervous Parents
Five-time Olympic medalist (and counting!) Aly Raisman’s parents are notoriously nervous during their daughter’s competitions. This year is no different, and their obvious squirminess has, of course, been turned into a meme for the Internet to obsess over.
https://twitter.com/jorcohen/status/763896676444766208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Poor mama pic.twitter.com/zuLkRBOEiy
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) August 10, 2016
Lynn and Rick Raisman #ArtisticGymnastics #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/9XShH8c0jc
— Renato (@RPMSports18) August 10, 2016
Laurie Hernandez
Gold medal gymnast Laurie Hernandez inspired the internet simply by believing in herself and by being genuinely happy, which is a nice change from the mishaps and unfortunate visual cues that usually lead to a meme’s creation.
Adopting the @lzhernandez02 "I got this" before doing anything that scares me from now on. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/ecJ5eJx7T9
— Hannah Sampson (@hannahbsampson) August 10, 2016
This should cheer anyone up. https://t.co/I4PdRXnTz8
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) August 10, 2016
She also winked at the judges during a competition, which is a sure-fire way to endear yourself to audiences, if not the judges themselves. 😉
https://www.instagram.com/p/BI-o2ZBh7QG/
