Crying Jordan Meme Wreaks Havoc After NCAA Championship Game

In an unforgettable 2016 NCAA Championship game, Basketball Twitter showed zero chill, using UNC alum Michael Jordan in a barrage of Crying Jordan memes.

Monday night’s NCAA national championship game was a fantastic reminder of what makes March Madness — and basketball in general — so special. In one of the greatest championship contests in NCAA history, the Villanova Wildcats emerged triumphant over the North Carolina Tar Heels on a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

Kris Jenkins’ game-winner, Ryan Arcidiacono’s selfless pass setting Jenkins up with the clock winding down, Marcus Paige’s improbable, double-clutch three-pointer to tie the game on the preceding possession, the back-and-forth nature of the game — all of it made for an unforgettable finale to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Twitter jokes, heartbreak and jubilation aside, this shot will live on forever in NCAA history, no matter which side you were rooting for.

But with Michael Jordan in the crowd to bear witness, it was also a reminder of what makes Basketball Twitter so fantastic, ruthless, hilarious and obnoxious all at once.

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Jordan, a former UNC star who became the greatest basketball player in NBA history, won an NCAA championship his freshman season and was just there to support his Tar Heels. The internet, of course, had other plans, especially once North Carolina lost in such devastating fashion.

That’s right folks, the Crying Jordan meme was back in full force Monday night, taking the love-it-or-hate-it viral trend to a whole new stratosphere.

For those who are still somehow unfamiliar, the Crying MJ meme became something of a cult classic for basketball fans after an emotional Jordan broke down during his Hall of Fame retirement speech, and since then it’s been plastered over the face of any athlete, celebrity or any other famous person who took an L in some way, shape or form.

To be fair, Jordan was a feel-good interview with Craig Sager and a gracious loser after Jenkins’ shot handed his alma mater defeat at the buzzer. He reacted FAR more favorably than anyone I know would in that same situation, and certainly more graciously than Twitter would soon give him credit for. He was seen nodding in approval and mouthing, “Good shot.”

If you can make a shot so clutch that it earns MJ’s approval, even when it comes at the expense of his alma mater, you’ve done something right.

That didn’t stop Basketball Twitter from having an absolute field day with it.

Of course, the Crying Jordan meme was in full effect long before Jenkins’ shot found the bottom of the net. Early in the second half, with Villanova going on a run and the game suddenly in doubt for UNC, a camera shot of Michael Jordan looking at his phone in the stands turned into a Crying Jordan meme:

Then after the game, Twitter became a field of landmines, with the Crying Jordan detonation coming at the expense of UNC fans and anyone who has long grown tired of the immortal meme.

They plastered his face onto every player on the roster:

And onto every UNC fan in the stands around Jordan, except for, hilariously enough, Jordan himself:

They dragged North Carolina head coach Roy Williams into the mess:

And even made poor Rameses, UNC’s mascot, a victim of all the Photoshopping:

Anyone affiliated with North Carolina became fair game. Thanks to his song “Raise Up” that features the lyrics “This one’s for North Carolina,” Petey Pablo became fair game:

Some of the best ones of the night, of course, came at MJ’s expense. The Air Jordan logo got dragged into it:

Jordan’s famous photo posing with all his championship rings saw the bling replaced with more Crying Jordans:

MJ’s temporary moment of celebration in the crowd, right when UNC was making its late-game run, quickly turned into the butt of a joke:

Not even MJ’s sacred Flu Game was off limits, with the internet twisting an all-time classic photo of Jordan and Scottie Pippen into an admittedly hysterical joke:

NOT EVEN MJ’S INTERVIEW WITH SAGER WAS EXEMPT:

I REPEAT: A HEARTWARMING INTERVIEW WITH SAGER WAS NOT OFF LIMITS.

Nor was the Old Well at UNC:

For those worried about poor old Michael Jordan, as much as this ongoing trend probably pisses him off, I think he’ll be just fine resting on the laurels of being the greatest player in the history of the sport, a multibillionaire and the coolest person in every room he walks into.

Hell, the reason crying MJ is so funny in the first place is we all know Jordan is the G.O.A.T., so of course depicting someone so legendary in such a demoralizing fashion is the perfect way to illustrate just how low the object being Photoshopped has sunk in a given moment.

Of course, you’re probably not here for a description of what makes the Crying MJ meme so funny. You’re here for the GIFs that took the humor to a whole new level, like this one depicting the game-winning shot that is devastatingly funny and ruthless all at once:

But the best of the night goes to the GIF depicting Roy Williams entering the UNC locker room to celebrate with his team after the victory.

It’s so perfect, so well executed and so undeniably cruel that words don’t really do it justice. Just sit back and know that, as always, Basketball Twitter wins.

The Crying MJ meme is not for everyone. It had probably worn out its welcome before Monday night’s game completely revived it and made it stronger than ever. When you really think about it, turning one person’s emotion, no matter how cocky or confident they are in life, and turning it into a viral meme is sort of demented.

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But while we should remember the real image of a crying Michael Jordan that’s among the greatest and most touching photos in the history of any sport, I dare you to scroll back through this piece without cracking at least one smile. Given Michael Jordan’s status as the G.O.A.T. … long live the obnoxious, hilarious and unavoidable Crying Jordan meme.