The NFL‘s biggest highlight this weekend wasn’t Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin’s 251 yards and four touchdowns. It wasn’t quarterback Andrew Luck’s rookie-record 433 passing yards, either.
No, the most memorable moment of this NFL weekend — and possibly this NFL season — didn’t come on the field at all. It took place in the Indianapolis Colts locker room, rather, after coach Chuck Pagano attended his first game since beginning treatment for leukemia in September.
In an emotional post-game speech, Pagano congratulated the Luck-led Colts on a big win, but also reminded the world that we love sports for much, much more than the games themselves.
“I mentioned before the game that you guys were living in a vision,” a visibly weakened Pagano began.
“My vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters get married, dance at their weddings, and then hoist that Lombardi [Super Bowl trophy] several times,” he continued in a shaky voice to rousing cheers coaches and players. “Several times we’re gonna hoist that baby. I’m dancing at two more weddings and we’re hoisting that trophy together, man.”
Pagano has been on leave from the team for most of the season, and was hospitalized for more than a month before returning home in late October. He’s supposed to start his second round of chemotherapy later this week. While he’s stayed in intermittent contact with his team via series of letters, Sunday marked his first time back in the locker room.
The poignant moment became a hot topic among online sports fans immediately after it was broadcast on Sunday, and you can watch for yourself in the embedded YouTube clip above.
BONUS GALLERY: Our Favorite Sports Social Media Moments of 2012
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As New England Patriot Devin McCourty took on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, his followers were still able to receive real-time updates from his social feeds. But he wasn't sneaking tweets between plays or during timeouts. Devin and twin brother Jason, who plays for the Tennessee Titans, share their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Super Bowl showcased one of the more creative approaches to social media in the sports world.
Image courtesy of Devin and Jason McCourty's Instagram.
New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, an unheralded, fringe NBA player out of Harvard, enjoyed a magical run of success in February, propelling him to worldwide stardom.
But that wasn't restricted to the hardcourt. Lin-themed memes popped up left and right, and tribute raps appeared on YouTube. Lin added Twitter followers at an exponential rate, and even tech publications that normally steer clear of sports were forced to take notice of "Linsanity."
Image courtesy of Flickr nikk_la.
When the Daytona 500 NASCAR race was delayed in late February after an explosion and fire on the track, driver Brad Keselowski began tweeting from his car. He posted the image at left, chatted with fans and gained more than 100,000 followers during his historic and shocking Twitter spree.
Image courtesy of Brad Keselowski
Twitter users gawked at an improbable collision of joy, violence and voyeurism after the University of Kentucky won college basketball's national championship in April.
How? Large-scale riots broke out in Lexington, and word spread that the city's police scanner was accessible via the streaming app TuneIn.
For hours, http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/#LexingtonPoliceScanner along with other terms related to the riots, trended worldwide. As one tweeter put it: "This is so messed up, but Twitter gold."
As the Los Angeles Kings played their way to a Stanley Cup title, the squad's social media team redefined the digital sports marketing playbook. Sassy tweets like the one at left -- directed at Stanley Cup Finals opponent the New Jersey Devils -- bucked a conservative status quo in the industry. But the social team pulled off its blatantly biased voice, jabs at opposing fans and goofy jokes with aplomb, gaining more than 60,000 followers during the playoffs.
Last spring, despite still being in his mid-20s, NBA star LeBron James, typically an engaging tweeter, endured more pressure and criticism than any player in basketball history for a lack of championships.
In late April, his Miami Heat began their playoff journey, and James went silent on social media. Weeks and weeks passed, but he didn't break his silence. Finally in June, the Heat won, and James celebrated his first title with this giddy message: "OMFG I think it just hit me, I'm a CHAMPION!! I AM a CHAMPION!!"
Image courtesy of Flickr, rezsox
The United States' Olympic basketball team of NBA mega-stars toured the world to practice and bond before the 2012 Games. During their travels, many of the players belied an unexpected yet profound love for everyone's favorite photo sharing app, Instagram. Dorky tourist shots and sneak attacks on snoozing teammates flooded the interwebs with hilarious and humanizing moments, providing a reminder that in many ways, our idols aren't so different from us.
Image courtesy of Kevin Durant (Instagram: @trey5)
It's easy to forget how much ugly abuse our athletic idols endure on social media. After a poor performance in the Summer Olympics, British diver Tom Daley was targeted by a troll who referenced his recently deceased father. Daley fought back by outing the troll to his 580,000 followers. Fans rallied to Daley's defense, and the harasser was eventually arrested under Britain's malicious communications laws.
Image courtesy @TomDaley1994
Immediately after favored American gymnast McKayla Maroney stumbled to a silver metal during the Summer Olympics and displayed her disapproval with a memorable scowl, the Internet worked its meme magic.
McKaylaIsNotImpressed.tumblr.com collected images of McKayla, superimposed onto famous scenes from history, pop culture and the news. At left, McKayla is being a wet blanket with an ecstatic, post-landing Mars rover team.
Sometimes brands and sports teams don't realize how much social media has shifted the balance of public relations power toward the common fan.
In September, a Kansas City Chiefs social media manager sent the disrespectful Twitter DM at left to a disgruntled fan, who, as it happened, was a professional social media expert. The fan went thermonuclear in the digital flamewar, blowing the story up on Reddit, Twitter and even mainstream media.
Animosity mounted among NFL players over the league's reliance on under-qualified replacement referees to start the season. Then the Green Bay Packers lost over a controversial call during Monday Night Football in September. Packer T.J. sent the following two tweets immediately after the game. Each gained tens of thousands of retweets. Fans and other players loved his candor, and the NFL's normal refs were soon back calling games.
British soccer star Ashley Cole posted the following message about England's governing body of soccer in October, after the organization cast doubt on his credibility in an investigation. The outburst and creative hashtag were a comedic hit with many fans, but Cole's pocketbook took a pretty epic dent when the same organization he blasted fined him £90,000 -- or 145,000 American dollars.
The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series in October. And the team was just as stellar in the social space. Creative engagement initiatives pulled fans in, and the social media home runs culminated when the team actually matched President Obama's near-perfect Klout score of 99.
Image courtesy of @SFGiants
As New England Patriot Devin McCourty took on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, his followers were still able to receive real-time updates from his social feeds. But he wasn't sneaking tweets between plays or during timeouts. Devin and twin brother Jason, who plays for the Tennessee Titans, share their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Super Bowl showcased one of the more creative approaches to social media in the sports world.
Image courtesy of Devin and Jason McCourty's Instagram.
New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, an unheralded, fringe NBA player out of Harvard, enjoyed a magical run of success in February, propelling him to worldwide stardom.
But that wasn't restricted to the hardcourt. Lin-themed memes popped up left and right, and tribute raps appeared on YouTube. Lin added Twitter followers at an exponential rate, and even tech publications that normally steer clear of sports were forced to take notice of "Linsanity."
Image courtesy of Flickr nikk_la.
When the Daytona 500 NASCAR race was delayed in late February after an explosion and fire on the track, driver Brad Keselowski began tweeting from his car. He posted the image at left, chatted with fans and gained more than 100,000 followers during his historic and shocking Twitter spree.
Image courtesy of Brad Keselowski
Twitter users gawked at an improbable collision of joy, violence and voyeurism after the University of Kentucky won college basketball's national championship in April.
How? Large-scale riots broke out in Lexington, and word spread that the city's police scanner was accessible via the streaming app TuneIn.
For hours, http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/http://feeds.mashable.com/#LexingtonPoliceScanner along with other terms related to the riots, trended worldwide. As one tweeter put it: "This is so messed up, but Twitter gold."
As the Los Angeles Kings played their way to a Stanley Cup title, the squad's social media team redefined the digital sports marketing playbook. Sassy tweets like the one at left -- directed at Stanley Cup Finals opponent the New Jersey Devils -- bucked a conservative status quo in the industry. But the social team pulled off its blatantly biased voice, jabs at opposing fans and goofy jokes with aplomb, gaining more than 60,000 followers during the playoffs.
Last spring, despite still being in his mid-20s, NBA star LeBron James, typically an engaging tweeter, endured more pressure and criticism than any player in basketball history for a lack of championships.
In late April, his Miami Heat began their playoff journey, and James went silent on social media. Weeks and weeks passed, but he didn't break his silence. Finally in June, the Heat won, and James celebrated his first title with this giddy message: "OMFG I think it just hit me, I'm a CHAMPION!! I AM a CHAMPION!!"
Image courtesy of Flickr, rezsox
The United States' Olympic basketball team of NBA mega-stars toured the world to practice and bond before the 2012 Games. During their travels, many of the players belied an unexpected yet profound love for everyone's favorite photo sharing app, Instagram. Dorky tourist shots and sneak attacks on snoozing teammates flooded the interwebs with hilarious and humanizing moments, providing a reminder that in many ways, our idols aren't so different from us.
Image courtesy of Kevin Durant (Instagram: @trey5)
It's easy to forget how much ugly abuse our athletic idols endure on social media. After a poor performance in the Summer Olympics, British diver Tom Daley was targeted by a troll who referenced his recently deceased father. Daley fought back by outing the troll to his 580,000 followers. Fans rallied to Daley's defense, and the harasser was eventually arrested under Britain's malicious communications laws.
Image courtesy @TomDaley1994
Immediately after favored American gymnast McKayla Maroney stumbled to a silver metal during the Summer Olympics and displayed her disapproval with a memorable scowl, the Internet worked its meme magic.
McKaylaIsNotImpressed.tumblr.com collected images of McKayla, superimposed onto famous scenes from history, pop culture and the news. At left, McKayla is being a wet blanket with an ecstatic, post-landing Mars rover team.
Sometimes brands and sports teams don't realize how much social media has shifted the balance of public relations power toward the common fan.
In September, a Kansas City Chiefs social media manager sent the disrespectful Twitter DM at left to a disgruntled fan, who, as it happened, was a professional social media expert. The fan went thermonuclear in the digital flamewar, blowing the story up on Reddit, Twitter and even mainstream media.
Animosity mounted among NFL players over the league's reliance on under-qualified replacement referees to start the season. Then the Green Bay Packers lost over a controversial call during Monday Night Football in September. Packer T.J. sent the following two tweets immediately after the game. Each gained tens of thousands of retweets. Fans and other players loved his candor, and the NFL's normal refs were soon back calling games.
British soccer star Ashley Cole posted the following message about England's governing body of soccer in October, after the organization cast doubt on his credibility in an investigation. The outburst and creative hashtag were a comedic hit with many fans, but Cole's pocketbook took a pretty epic dent when the same organization he blasted fined him £90,000 -- or 145,000 American dollars.
The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series in October. And the team was just as stellar in the social space. Creative engagement initiatives pulled fans in, and the social media home runs culminated when the team actually matched President Obama's near-perfect Klout score of 99.
Image courtesy of @SFGiants
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