The 25 Funniest Sports Memes of 2012

Image via Complex Original

Meme Origin: Lakers coach Mike Brown attempts to give his team some advice.

Mike Brown's second season as Lakers head coach lasted a whopping five games before he was unceremoniously dismissed. While the reasons for his departure were many, a major one seems to be that the team just didn't buy what he was trying to teach them. He never really gelled with Kobe Bryant (more on the "Death Stare" later on), which makes it pretty hard to win anyone associated with the Lakers' respect.

Meme Origin: Bryce Harper responds incredulously to a reporter.

Why is it a "clown question" to ask someone if they're going to have a beer to celebrate a huge home run? When that person is Mormon, of course! Bryce Harper probably would have had the same response if the reporter asked him if he was going to have a latte or a cigarette. When Bryce Harper uttered those now famous words to the poor Canadian reporter who asked the question, a million-dollar sentence was formed. No, seriously, Harper trademarked it and now controls all merchandising rights.

Meme Origin: The Charlotte Bobcats post the worst winning percentage in NBA history.

Even though the season was 16 games shorter than normal, the Charlotte Bobcats still managed to make history. Their pathetic 7-59 record was the worst winning percentage in the history of the NBA, no small feat given how many horrible teams there have been. When futility of that level occurs, memes abound. While they've begun to reverse their losing ways, the stink of last year will forever waft throughout NBA lore.

Meme Origin: Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski dominates on and off the field.

Rob Gronkowski loves to party. Rob Gronkowski takes pictures with porn stars wearing his jerseys. Rob Gronkowski buys million-dollar houses with straight cash. This behemoth is the ultimate meathead, a guy who loves nothing more than to play football and hit people. After a record-setting 2011 season, the man known simply as Gronk continued to steamroll the rest of the NFL in 2012. What he will do next to top his previous antics only he knows, but we can almost guarantee he will do whatever it is shirtless.

Meme Origin: Peyton Manning purchases 21 Papa John's franchises in Denver just as Colorado legalizes marijuana.

Call it divine providence, a perfect storm, or merely a coincidence. However you want to label it, the fact of the matter is that Peyton Manning might be the most fortunate investor of all time. After purchasing 21 Papa John's franchises in the Denver area, Manning saw his new home state legalize marijuana a mere 11 days later. No matter how much money he has made from his football salary and endorsements, it now seems a mortal lock that the Broncos' QB is going to be a billionaire within the next five years.

Meme Origin: Rookie sensation Robert Griffin III shows why he was a top draft pick.

What a year for Robert Griffin III. First, he won the Heisman Trophy. Then, he was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft. He has dominated from Day 1 and—if he can return from injury—a favorite not only for Rookie of the Year, but is a dark horse MVP candidate as well. He also has managed to star in ads for adidas and Subway in his spare time. The guy is basically everything Michael Vick wanted to be, both on and off the field. Only without the underground dog fighting ring. We hope.

Meme Origin: Former Net, Celtic, and Bull Brian Scalabrine retires.

While he may not be the greatest basketball player of all time, Scalabrine is a legend in the meme world, starring in many of the NBA's best memes over the last several years. When the redheaded wonder retired this offseason, a deluge of meme tributes immediately followed. While they are mostly meant ironically, it's heartwarming to see that on some level fans are eager to pay tribute to what is likely the last of the "doughy white bench player" type in the NBA.

Meme Origin: Javale McGee looks perplexed at a referee's call.

People—ourselves included—love to make fun of Javale McGee. To be fair, he gives them reason to; this is the guy who ran back on defense when his team was trying to set up an offensive play, after all. The guy always looks desperately confused when he's out on the court, leading to a wide array of facial expressions. While we can't read his thoughts, it's safe to assume that they're probably pretty simple.

Meme Origin: Kentucky star Anthony Davis' unibrow captures the nation's attention.

A unibrow is supposed to be a source of pain and ridicule among one's peers. However, that may all change thanks to Anthony Davis. Nobody—and we mean nobody—in the history of civilization has taken such ownership over what many perceive as a flaw. Davis has embraced his nickname of "The Brow" to the point that he has trademarked the phrases "Raise the Brow" and "Fear the Brow." The fact that unibrows have become cool is yet another sign that maybe the Mayans were right about 2012.

Meme Origin: An Olympic pole vaulter bears a very unfortunate name.

It's hard enough to get respect when you are a pole vaulter. It's really the redheaded stepchild of Olympic sports; you begrudgingly accept its existence so that you can enjoy its more interesting siblings like the 100 meter dash. When your name doesn't even need to be altered for fans to completely belittle you, life gets that much tougher. It's no shock, then, that this guy couldn't get out of the qualifying round.

Meme Origin: A bald Jason Kidd starts donning a headband.

It's a scientific fact: Space Jam is one of the best sports movies ever made. It's got Michael Jordan, monster dunks, and R. Kelly. A true classic. Jason Kidd has taken to wearing a headband this season, an obvious homage to Elmer Fudd's signature look when he's throwing down on the Monstars. When an NBA player looks so exactly like one of the principal characters of this fine film, it is certainly cause for celebration.

Meme Origin: When the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate, it can only mean one thing.

When you're a kid, there are few foods more beloved than pizza and its many different iterations such as pizza bagels, pizza rolls, or pizza Hot Pockets. When a team shows as much youthful exuberance as the Oklahoma City Thunder, it's only natural to expect that they would love pizza rolls. It's fun to imagine Kevin Durant and company huddled around a huge plate of freshly-microwaved pizza rolls after a game, so eager to devour them that they don't care that they are giving their tongues second degree burns. We've all been there.

Meme Origin: Queen Elizabeth surveys the opening ceremonies at the London Olympics.

Not really known for her bubbly personality, England's Queen Elizabeth II took in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with all the enthusiasm of someone about to undergo a colonoscopy. Not even an uproarious performance from Mr. Bean himself could lighten her mood. This development, of course, led many to wonder just why she was looking so surly. She hadn't been this unhappy since Reggie Jackson tried to shoot her in the The Naked Gun.

Meme Origin: Zeddie Little participates in the 2012 Cooper River Bridge Run.

If you're a sports photographer, it has to be hard to find work less interesting than covering a road race. A bunch of out of shape suburbanites spend $30 for a T-shirt and the privilege of doing something they could otherwise do for free. Riveting stuff. But once in a while, someone like Zeddie Little comes along and makes it all worthwhile. The right light, the right timing, the right angle, everything just falls into place. The result is a meme that shall resound throughout the ages as one of the single greatest photos ever taken of a person.

Meme Origin: Great Britain's Mo Farah celebrates winning the 10,000 meters at the 2012 London Olympics.

Every four years, the Summer Olympics provides its share of indelible moments that come to represent the games as a whole. When Great Britain's Mo Farah became the first Brit ever to win the 10,000 meter dash, his wide-eyed celebration became one such image. Naturally, since his joy also looks astoundingly like fear, he became an overnight meme sensation. He could be running from dinosaurs, bears, or even Teletubbies; whatever it is, Mo is always fleeing in terror.

Meme Origin: Beleaguered Lakers coach Mike Brown calls a timeout, and Kobe isn't happy.

Despite the Lakers' early struggles, Kobe Bryant and the fans both feel that he is beyond reproach. It had to be the coach's fault. Kobe has never had great relations with his coaches; Phil Jackson and The Black Mamba hated each other for most of their time together. So, when the basically impotent Mike Brown tried to make a point to Kobe during a timeout, it looked like the five-time NBA champion might commit an assault. Fortunately for Brown, he was fired before any actual violence could take place.

Meme Origin: The ongoing saga of LeBron James' reciding hairline.

This is pretty much the final stand for making fun of LeBron James. The guy's headband seemingly doubles in size every year to cover up his rapidly receding hairline, and one would assume that it's only a matter of time before he does the decent thing and goes with the MJ/cue ball look. We should like that we can see that he is balding, though, not to enjoy LeBron's misery; instead, it reminds us all that even someone as supremely gifted as James is not immune to the fickle nature of genetics. We take personally take comfort knowing that we will always at least have a thicker head of hair than him.

Meme Origin: The NFL's replacement referees used in the beginning of the season being a complete atrocity.

Roger Goodell banked on the fact that replacement refs couldn't really be that much worse than the regular officials. How wrong he was. The incompetence of the NFL's replacement officials reached staggering heights, culminating in the infamous debacle at the end of the Seattle-Green Bay Monday Night Football game. The incident led to a massive public outcry and ultimately spurred the return of the real refs. Now that this nightmare is behind us, we can look back and chuckle at the bumbling officials with a sense of nostalgia.

Meme Origin: Injured Andrew Bynum began experimenting with his hair in his months away from the court.

For someone who has yet to play a game for his current team, Bynum has made a lot of headlines this season for the 76ers. His hair has been all over the map, with his most outrageous style looking like the bizarre lovechild of Dora the Explorer and Rick James. The time and effort that probably went into cultivating this look is the most troubling aspect of this; if Bynum attacked his rehab with the same vigor, maybe he'd be able to get back on the court.

Meme Origin: Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time at the 2012 London games.

After the 2008 games, Phelps found himself in a media firestorm for the bong rip seen 'round the world. Critics questioned whether he would dedicate himself enough to break Larisa Latynina's all-time Olympics medals record of 18. Well, Phelps proved haters wrong when he brought home another six—including four gold medals—at the 2012 Games in London. See kids, drugs aren't all that bad. We kid. Sort of.

Meme Origin: The ever-scowling Jay Cutler needs an image makeover.

Everyone who watches the NFL knows that Jay Cutler gives off a vibe that could, at best, be described as "surly." Give him credit: nobody appears to have more disdain for his teammates, city, and fans than Cutler. How could he seem anymore apathetic, one might ask? Just add a cigarette! Smokin' Jay Cutler has become one of the great Tumblr accounts in recent memory, and has finally given the quarterback a nickname that will stick.

Meme Origin: Harvard-bred point guard Jeremy Lin bursts onto the NBA scene in February and revives the New York Knicks.

Jeremy Lin went to Harvard. He was an economics major. He was head of the Asian American Christian Fellowship. According to those who buy into stereotypes, this is not a guy you would expect to be the next big thing in the NBA. After a series of breakout games for the Knicks, though, that's exactly what he became. His last name spawned an epic series of memes and puns, and gave us the gift of ESPN's most ridiculous headline and subsequent contrite apology of all time.

Meme Origin: Manny Pacquiao's shocking knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Over the last 10 years, Manny Pacquiao has transformed himself from a virtually unknown bantamweight fighter to an eight-division world champion and global icon. No one's invincible though, especially in the world of boxing. Pac-Man found out the hard way on Saturday when Juan Manuel Marquez delivered the Knockout of the Year in the sixth round. The shocking image of Pacquiao laid out on the canvas created the perfect opportunity those on the Interwebs to go to work. From Trinidad James rolling over the fallen boxer to Simba trying to wake up Pac-Man, the memes were pretty hilarious.

Meme Origin: McKayla Maroney wins silver in the gymnastics vault competition at the London Games.

For 99.9 percent of us, winning an Olympic silver medal would be the most amazing accomplishment of our lives. Not McKayla Maroney, though. Her scowl on the medal podium after narrowly missing out on gold became a global phenomenon. If the memes are to be believed, nothing can impress her: not making it to the moon, not double rainbows, not even President Obama himself.