When it comes to a worthy sports moment, social media provides us with a unique feature: we can see a play, an iconic feat, a touching tribute, and so much more, from different angles and personalities—even the athletes themselves—with each one capturing and adding a different feel to the experience. The incredible moments you missed, for whatever reason, are then stored forever across multiple platforms, in scrollable, like-inducing infamy.
This year’s top moments were creations of legend, both topical and heavy on the funny. From Baby Yoda to Taco Tuesdays, World Cup dominance to Auburn’s shrubbery and a good-luck hockey dog named Barclay, it was quite the digital smorgasbord. So, let’s thumb up, and take a look back at some of the best sports social media moments of 2019.
This “bears” repeating
The power of social media at the very tip-top best, the Hershey Bears—a minor league affiliate of the Washington Capitals—set a record during a wonderful cause. They reminded all fans that the annual “Teddy Bear Toss” was happening, and urged them to bring a stuffed animal to the game against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The toss, as advised by the team, was scheduled to occur after the first Bears’ goal. And when that puck hit the back of the net…what a sight—over 45,000 teddy bears rained down in a smile-inducing frenzy!
Carlos and Thomas won
Six years after the Boston Marathon tragedy, Thomas Smith and Carlos Arredondo proved that strength and determination—with a dash of compassion and motivation—are not easily defeated. Smith’s completion of the 2019 race, the powerful moment, was captured at the finish line. The eight hours of mental and emotional wear that is nearly unthinkable and impossible to withstand—aided by the support from Arredondo…
On April 15, 2019, Thomas Smith was anything but a victim. Hero and inspiration was more fitting, actually.
Baby Yoda said hello to the sports world
When Werner Herzog stood up to the Star Wars brass and said that Baby Yoda would not be some CGI’d hodgepodge when introduced to the world in The Mandalorian, he probably didn’t realize the profound effect it would have on the sports world (or earth, really). By now, if your favorite team or athlete hasn’t sent out some version of the photoshopped Baby Yoda…well, then your team needs to get with it.
Don’t Retire, Kid
One of the more inspiring campaigns in 2019, “Don’t Retire, Kid” aims to increase youth sports participation by fixing some of the many problems that have become commonplace from sport to sport — the first step: recognizing that there are problems. To help, ESPN and Aspen Institute called on some of the more prominent professional athletes—Kobe Bryant, Albert Pujols, Sue Bird, and Sloane Stephens to name a few— to relay messaging via social media about how sports helped them improve in life, and not just on the court or field.
US Women’s national team gets the gold
Whether it was scenes from around Paris or the action on the field, fans, media outlets, and even the talented athletes took to the social media cosmos during the 2019 World Cup. They highlighted why the digital age’s popularity—on a worldwide level—makes for such an entertaining and captivating element to any sporting event. Even non-soccer fans in the US were drawn to the 2019 games, which created one of the best tournament experiences since its inception in 1991.
Who dat…referee not calling pass interference?!
In the pre-social media days, a blown call in an NFL game would cause a stir, with fans at the game voicing their frustrations and then relying on the news networks to replay the conspiracy-based blunder so they could express their frustrations to the family and friends who weren’t there. (Perhaps Uncle Bob taped it?)
In 2019, however, a missed call is a different story—the historically relatable and Instagram alike. And no example of this is stronger than the Rams-Saints NFC Championship Game. The missed pass interference call against the Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman on the Saints’ TommyLee Lewis set the sports world ablaze; social media was a storm of retweets and tweets, screenshots of different angles of the missed call, GIFs, the works!
Sports stars (willingly) aged themselves
FaceApp challenged the attention-limitations of many social media users during the summer of 2019, and the mass appeal didn’t skip over some of the best athletes in the world. Suddenly, as you scrolled through the daily this and that, you’d come across an image of your favorite star tennis player, soccer legend, or basketball icon, only he or she was…older—like old-old. It made for a lot of fun and also stood a benchmark as the only time major athletes willing aged themselves.
The Nationals went dancing
Not only did the Washington Nationals shock the baseball world by overthrowing the Dodgers and Cardinals for NL supremacy and then taking the World Series from the Astros in Game 7, but they also did an outstanding job reminding fans that this is a game—a game that is meant to be fun. A dream job, if you will, with a little bit of dugout dancing here and there.
Gerardo Parra forever changed walk-up songs
At the forefront of the Nationals’ feel-good atmosphere in 2019 was Gerardo Parra, whose walkup song made fans yearn for a pinch hitter as they have never yearned in baseball history:
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo
(Yep, it’s stuck in your head again) doo doo doo doo doo doo
Baby shark!
You scream, I scream, Lindsey Vonn screams for Ice cream
Lindsey Vonn’s 2018 comeback attempt was covered perfectly in her HBO documentary, giving fans a firsthand look at how hard she worked to overcome injury issues that have plagued her stellar career. But one clip didn’t make the final cut. Vonn, unfortunately, suffered a leg injury that wouldn’t be healed in the time for the races at Lake Louise at the end of November. No surprise, the news was heartbreaking for Vonn. Not all was a tragic violin solo, though. Vonn posted an outtake from that 2018 doctor’s visit that proved…sometimes, we all just need some ice cream.
The hit heard ’round the internet
The NFL season is always full of social media-worthy moments, and that sometimes includes the not-so-great headline makers. The November 14th matchup between the Browns and the Steelers wasn’t anything special—that is, until the end of the game, when Mason Rudolph and Myles Garrett got into a scuffle. By the time Garrett had clubbed Rudolph over the head—with Rudolph’s helmet—the news had hit social media, and almost instantaneously carved its (unwanted) presence in NFL history. Later,
the incident went viral, spawning t-shirts as well as creatively concocted Christmas decorations and a tailgate piñata.
Wahoowa! What a Final Four
The NCAA Final Four would have been fine without social media, but the incredible highlights of the Virginia team grabbing the school’s first title made for a fun follow—from Charlottesville all the way to the west coast. The Cavaliers lost as the No. 1 seed—to a 16 seed—the previous year, but made sure the follow-up attempt was a different outcome. They battled through a tough Auburn squad to take on Texas Tech in an incredible final that went to overtime. Like a lot of social media moments, the journey of the team was usually accompanied by a now-familiar hashtag: #Wahoowa
Thanks to LeBron, it’s no longer just Tuesday
LeBron James is one of the most influential people on social media, with nearly 90 million followers on Twitter and Instagram alone. So, when The King starts talking about “Taco Tuesday,” you best believe that more than a few people will listen—and pull up to the e-dinner table for a few hard-shelled delights. The popularity of this social media-based movement became so massive that LeBron even considered and attempted getting the phrase trademarked. Unfortunately, Taco Tuesday has been around nearly as long as calendars—since the days of the depression, anyway—and LeBron’s request was denied.
That lady’s…stuck
2019’s Iron Bowl produced one of the historical rivalry’s best games, with the Auburn Tigers winning dramatically. The aftermath of the game, however, immediately shifted the focus from Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn to a fan and her field-storming tribulations. The woman’s struggles with the Jordan-Hare Stadium shrubbery quickly made the rounds on social media, with the spectacular moments of confusion providing one of the best GIFs ever.
Katelyn Ohashi didn’t dance around a now-common debate
Another perfect example of social media gone right, UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi floored everyone this past year with an electrifying routine that was a brilliant combo of sheer athletic ability and technique mixed with unbridled energy. In what’s become almost the norm for social media excellence, Ohashi’s performance had not just gymnast fans in complete awe, but also causal folks just thumbing through their feeds. The best part: Katelyn was able to turn the national spotlight around and highlight the Fair Pay to Play Act.
It’s still Tiger’s game
The Bloomberg tweet above basically says it all: Tiger is an influential icon, with very few athletes able to shake the sports world the way he can with one swing of the club. Winning or losing, he can create a social media frenzy. And in this case, winning the Maters—his fist major since 2008—not only made for a lot of trending news…but it apparently made a few companies a little cha-ching(!) too.
Maddy Freking struck out the naysayers
From sportsmanship to inspiring stories to Big Al Delia—who famously informed the world the he “hits dingers”—you can always count on the Little League World Series to provide a few feel-good moments.
This year, Maddy Freking took center stage—er, mound. She was only the 19th girl to ever play in the August classic, which is a feat on its own. But her talent was simply remarkable. Multiple moments highlighted her on-field awareness—not easy to possess as a youth—and none more than when she took the mound and got out of a bases-loaded jam. One strikeout and a difficult 1-to-2 putout later, Freking became a part of Little League (and social media) History.
Just some guys from Liverpool, rocking it
Liverpool turned back the clock to 2005, winning the Champions League over Tottenham Hotspur, and then going on to the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, where they edged out Chelsea in penalty kicks after time had expired. And the social media world was on high alert for all of it (as expected), with the general masses of fútbol fanatics chiming in along the way. The incredible run was relived on the team’s Instagram, too, with over a million people viewing the spectacular achievement.
Zion and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad shoe
Basketball and Shoe Social Media went off the rails this past February when Duke star Zion Williamson was injured after his (ahem: Nike) shoe had a blowout. The injury to Williamson’s knee had the entire arena—not to mention, a lot of the basketball world—holding their breath. Luckily, the damage wasn’t catastrophic, and Williamson was able to return in March— and then go on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. The damage to Nike, however, was quick and lasting: the stock dropped nearly two percent immediately afterward, while social media was quick with takes and memes—the works! When it was “shoe decision” time as a professional, Zion eventually went with Jordan Brand.
Toronto Raptors: NBA champs
When you’re representing more than a city, after winning the first-ever NBA Championship as a team outside of the U.S., you just knew the parade and subsequent partying would be something worth watching. And Toronto—and practically all of Canada—didn’t disappoint. Each moment of pure elated fandom and athletes basking in the iconic glory was captured across social media.
Simone Biles’ windup: 10/10
There have been a ton of ceremonial first pitch flops, with some big names looking rather silly and uncoordinated. But not Simone Biles. Nope, the gold medalist took to the mound in Houston and changed the first pitch game forever!
Rex Chapman: putting a smile on social media
Ex-NBA player and Kentucky Wildcat Rex Chapman has created an interesting post-career niche. Chapman’s twitter account has become a notable must-see these days, a fun mix of people’s insane stunts and head-scratching antics, and his popular “Block or Charge?” posts. Chapman also does a solid job finding and sharing some of the internet’s feel-good moments that highlight the power of sports—like this heartfelt clip of an epic two-pointer.
Gronk and Venus shake it with the Laker Girls
Talk about Hollywood keeping you on your toes! It was a legendary halftime show at the Staples Center in November, with tennis star Venus Williams and retired NFLer Rob Gronkowski lending their dance skills to the Laker Girls act.
Wish granted
The entire Make-a-Wish feed deserves a spot on this list, as the wonderful organization continues to make dreams a reality for boys and girls who suffer from a critical illness. But, if it were a situation where you had to choose just one moment, this video of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and few young fans who helped design his custom cleats would be hard to beat!
Kyler Murray: Football player
One of the most active debates this past year, Kyler Murray had sports fans, the NFL and the Oakland A’s waiting in anticipation for his big decision: football or baseball. What seemed to be a lock for the Bay Area, with Murray continuing his professional career nine innings at a time, was flipped—the Heisman winner calling an audible and making the announcement he was entering the NFL Draft.
Is that you, Trevor?
Trevor Lawrence’s 2019 was quite remarkable. He led the Clemson Tigers in a blowout win over Alabama in the 2018/19 National Championship game, and he quickly became the nation’s top slinger to watch entering the 2019/2020 season. But it was a 16-year-old from Georgia named Bella Martina, who really set Lawerence’s status to new heights. The Lawrence lookalike went viral with her comical Tik Tok videos of her mimicking the quarterback’s expressions. Uncanny!
Lamar Jackson Fan Club
Lamar Jackson has been the NFL’s most electrifying player this year. Whether it’s through the air or on the ground, the Ravens quarterback has proven that the naysayers were incorrect about his ability to lead an NFL team, as Jackson has been a one-man headache for defenses around the league. His star power is growing, too, with one example of that perfectly captured after the game against the Jets.
Good boy
The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup, and they won the internet, too. The team was struggling last season, looking up from the basement of the Western Conference. Then, they met Barclay, a service dog in training, and things turned for the better. Coincidence? It certainly made a lot of folks on social media “paws” and take notice. And now there’s a min-doc of Barclay’s journey for all to enjoy!
Bearcat sees no age—only six points
The best thing about social media is, the context doesn’t really matter. Sometimes, you just have to sit back, relax, hit play, and trust that what you’re about to see is a mascot bulldozing youth football players on the way to paydirt. (And yes, the Patriots probably filmed this, too.)
Not-so-average Joe
Joe Burrow’s 2019 has been an excellent showcase of what the talented quarterback can do with an improved LSU offensive game plan. The 2019 Heisman winner torched defenses this year, leading the team to an SEC title and a trip to the NCAA Playoff. One of the coolest moments this season came during Burrow’s Senior Night walkout, with LSU’s video department giving a first-person take on what it’s like to be No. 9.
Oh, dear
The impact of the US Women’s 2019 World Cup victory has apparently transcended humankind. Now, even the animal kingdom has begun to pick up the game of soccer—including the fun post-goal celebrations.
A final play that will last forever
Seven years to the day since the Sandy Hook tragedy, the Newton Nighthawks pulled off some incredible last-play heroics. The game, which was almost moved because of the emotional impact surrounding the day, was one for the history books—the Nighthawks winning on a 36-yard strike to win the Connecticut Class LL State Championship. The emotions captured after the touchdown was sports at its best.
