Tim Howard's Heroics Owned Twitter, Memes Explode, Vincent Kompany Pays Tribute

TIm Howard's goalkeeping display during Belgium vs. USA at one point was drawing more than 50,000 tweets per minute, as the USMNT bowed out of the World Cup.

Howard's record-breaking 15 saves in a single match kept the Americans in the game but were not enough as the U.S. slipped to a 2-1 defeat in Salvador.   

But Twitter exploded with talk about him: 

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Over 1.8m mentions of Tim Howard (@TimHowardGK) during #BEL v #USA, with spikes for big saves http://t.co/t7TPIXnhIU

— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) July 1, 2014
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And Photoshopped works of tribute quickly flooded Twitter as well:

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Incredible shot of Tim Howard in action against Belgium #BELvsUSA #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/36m2lREN5z

— NOT SportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) July 1, 2014
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Despite the loss, Tim Howard’s record setting performance was monumental. pic.twitter.com/eaqF2Whkxq

— ESPN (@espn) July 1, 2014
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new photo of Tim Howard pic.twitter.com/3OyoHzMhKB

— Ridiculousness (@WeLoveRobDyrdek) July 1, 2014
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Twitter: 1,800,000 mentions of @TimHowardGK during #USAvsBEL pic.twitter.com/bS7xIh3AQS

— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 1, 2014
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Tim Howard. So money. pic.twitter.com/vINmrsK5ON

— ESPN (@espn) July 1, 2014
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But perhaps the biggest moment of tribute came from none other than the Belgium captain, Vincent Kompany:

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Two words.. TIM HOWARD #Respect #BelUSA

— Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany) July 1, 2014
"

[Twitter]