One of my favorite parts of the NCAA tournament is seeing who comes out of nowhere to turn into a viral celebrity during this month of madness.
By my estimation, we had eight true candidates for the award of March Madness Viral Celebrity of the Year. Here they are:
8. ROB GRAY’S LITTLE BROTHER
He was more fired up for Houston’s success in the tournament than any Houston fan in the history of basketball in the city of Houston.
Gotta love Rob Gray's brother with his own man bun. @UHCougarMBK #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/8fvBxcvzML
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 18, 2018
7. JORDAN PEELE
Jordan Poole is spelled a lot like Jordan Peele, which inevitably led to people tweeting at Peele instead of Poole. Peele’s thank you tweet was a highlight of the first weekend.
I wanna thank everyone for the congratulatory messages. When you practice your jump shot as much as I have, you just hope one day it’ll pay off. 🏀
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) March 18, 2018
6. TY JEROME DOESN’T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DUMB QUESTIONS
Having to answer questions from a bunch of reporters after suffering the most humiliating moment of your life is not an easy thing to do. Having to answer ridiculous and stupid questions could be intolerable, which is why I loved Ty Jerome’s response to a stupid question he was asked:
"Were you aware that a 16 had never won before?"
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 17, 2018
"I think everyone's aware of that. Thanks for bringing that up again" pic.twitter.com/jSCSOJL7oP
5. ROBERT WILLIAMS TEAMMATE
I loved seeing Robert Williams’ teammate do a panotmine windmill in the background while Williams was throwing down a windmill in real time on Providence:
WINDMILL.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2018
Robert Williams is a RIDICULOUS athlete 😱 pic.twitter.com/tq1nEDoO8q
4. MARIAH MUSSELMAN
Nevada head coach Eric Musselman has led his team to the Sweet 16, cussed on live television and gone shirtless to celebrate with his team, but the star of the Musselman family is his daughter Mariah:
.@NevadaHoops head coach Eric Musselman's daughter Mariah with an adorable update for the Wolf Pack! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/91oSvTg5Sy
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2018
3. MATT HAARMS’ HAIR
He really does have great hair:
America finally gets the #HaarmsHair mix it deserves.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2018
🔊🆙#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/XiqecezHMZ
2. @UMBCAthletics
This dude lived the dream of every twitter user out there. When your shot is there, you have to take it.
1. SISTER JEAN
Mic drop:
CBS2's @MeganMawicke to Sister Jean, 98 years old and @RamblersMBB's biggest fan: “You are becoming a national celebrity.”
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) March 19, 2018
Sister Jean: "Really, if I could correct you. International. Because they told me I’m appearing in Mexico and in Great Britain." pic.twitter.com/ctTeR25eeg