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Johnny Manziel's Middle Finger Gesture Spawns Wave of Internet Memes
August 19, 2014
Warning: article contains NSFW images of Johnny Manziel flipping everyone off.
Johnny Manziel hit the Washington Redskins bench with the only finger that matters on Monday night.
It was a frustrated, juvenile gesture from the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback—one that thumped a wide cross section of the sporting press square on the unfunny bone. Not everyone viewed a rookie flashing the bird as the death knell of a young career, however.
Many found it amusing, and it wasn’t long before the Internet meme machine began churning out Photoshopped takes on Manziel’s middle finger incident.
Here’s a rundown of the best “Manziel Flipping Things Off” memes, starting with Johnny reaching out for enlightenment.
Sure, Adam was God’s untainted creation, but was he elite?
SB Nation had a throwback field day with it, adding him to the (unsurprisingly Chicago-centric) Rushmore of sports middle fingers.
Here’s Manziel arguing against the efficacy of electrolytes.
Manziel and Ohio State’s Marcus Hall, seen here letting the doves fly free.
Barstool Sports served up some Stone Cold Johnny.
And there you have it: the latest and greatest in Manziel-NFL magic.
The Browns rookie quarterback told reporters after the game he needed to be more cognizant of his surroundings and avoid, well, flipping people off on national television.
“I get words exchanged throughout the entirety of the game, every game, every week,” Manziel told The Associated Press (h/t WJLA.com). “It was a Monday Night Football game, and the cameras were probably solid on me, and I just need to be smarter about that.”
On the bright side—if there is one—Manziel threw a touchdown against the Redskins on Monday night, performing infinitesimally better than teammate Brian Hoyer on the field.
Unfortunately, the middle finger erases that thumbnail of an edge Manziel gained. On-field antics earn unwanted attention, which in turn causes men in nice suits to journey down to the field to tell players about said attention.
Chalk up another mulligan for Johnny—the creator of good television and inspiration of Internet trolls everywhere.
Batten down the hatches and start collecting animals you'd like to see in the new world. This is just the first Manziel meme of the NFL season. We're in for a deluge.
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