Photo: Instagram
Because you gotta laugh.
By Arianna Jeret — Written on Feb 03, 2019
Nothing says Super Bowl 2019 like "controversy", and no form of communication handles controversy better than the best funny memes can.
We're just barely over one month into 2019, and Sunday, February 3, brings what is sure to be one of the most controversial events of the year for people all across the U.S. — Super Bowl LIII (53).
The NFL's annual mega-game is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, with the New England Patriots doing battle against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home arena of the Atlanta Falcons. The national anthem is set to be lead by "Empress of Soul" Gladys Knight, and the half-time show will feature rock band Maroon 5, along with rappers Big Boi from Outkast and Travis Scott.
While the always star-studded half-time show and world famous Super Bowls ads shown throughout game's running time has traditionally made the Super Bowl a must-watch event for even for people with less than zero interest in the American football, Super Bowl 2019 and those performers who have signed on to profit from their participation are under tremendous scrutiny in light of the controversy surrounding the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick.
"in 2016, Colin Kaepernick was a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. After speaking with a former NFL player who had served as a Green Beret, he decided that he would no longer stand during the singing of the national anthem before games. Instead, in a silent act of protest against police shootings of unarmed black Americans, he would kneel ... Slowly, other NFL players joined the protest, and conservative outrage mounted in response. Kneeling athletes, argued some on the right, were disrespecting the American flag, and by extension American veterans ...
The NFL at first supported its players ... But as outrage mounted, the league changed its tune. After becoming a free agent in the spring of 2017, Colin Kaepernick was not offered a contract from any team in the league. (He has since filed an official grievance against the NFL, saying it colluded to keep him from working.) And in May 2018, the NFL announced a new policy. Now players would be expected to stand for the anthem if they were on the sidelines but were given the option of remaining in the locker room instead. If they protested, they would be fined ...
"The policy was wildly unpopular, and last fall, the NFL announced that it would no longer enforce it. (Athletes have knelt in protest this season without consequence.) Kaepernick, however, remains off the field."
While being invited to perform has typically been one of the highest — and most profitable — honors a musical artist could receive, the organizers of Super Bowl 2019 found themselves snubbed multiple times over.
According to various sources, Rihanna, Pink, Jay-Z and Cardi B are reported to have turned down the gig before it was offered to Maroon 5.
And while a Change.org petition urging them to drop out currently shows 115,075 signatures and climbing, frontman Adam Levine told Entertainment Tonight, "You know I think that when you look back at every single halftime show, people just can’t — it’s this like insatiable urge to hate a little bit ... I’m not in the right profession if I can’t handle a little bit of controversy. It’s what it is. We expected it. We’d like to move on from it.”
And Vulture reports that "the band and Scott agreeing to donate a substantial amount of money to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Dream Corps, respectively, to coincide with their gig. (In fact, Scott refused to headline the show if the NFL didn’t publicly contribute a $500,000 charity pledge.)"
Meanwhile, U.S. and global citizens across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, are responding to it all in the way U.S. and global citizens of today do — in memes.
Here are the best memes and Tweets about Super Bowl 2019 for your personal consideration and enjoyment.
1. "There's two ways to guarantee hate on Twitter tonight. Say you don't like Tom Brady or say you love him lol."
2. "The only super bowl that matters."
3. "Dearest Superbowl Boycotting Saints Fans: Nobody cares."
4. "Cooking for Super Bowl Sunday like ..."
5. "This is me ... not caring about the Super Bowl."
6. "My friends and I being annoying while our boyfriends try to watch the game."
7. "Oh, the Super Bowl is today? I hope both teams lose."
8. "When you show up to the Super Bowl party just for the snacks."
9. "People who like sports. People who don't like sports. Guacamole."
10. "The new Marvel crossover is wild."
11. "How we feel about football & the Super Bowl here."
12. "When you go to a Super Bowl party just for the food and people start to talking to you about football."
13. "Me pretending to care that the Super Bowl is on today."
14. "If they can throw a ball for more than three minutes, why can't you?"
15. "Honestly, I'm just here to watch Tom Brady bend over."
16. "Cat videos. Me. Superbowl."
17. "Women's Super Bowl Meeting: 'And now that they're all distracted ... let's take over the world!"
Deputy Editor Arianna Jeret, MA/MSW, is a recognized expert on love, relationships and divorce who has been featured in Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, Yahoo Style, MSN, Fox News, Bustle, Parents and more. Find her on Twitter and Instagram or more.