Hockey players pose with teammates as the ‘big catch’ in adorable social media meme
Catching the 'big one.' Mix hockey players with a fishing theme and you have a social media trend that caught fire in the sport.
Mark
They pose as if they’ve caught the big one while fishing. Sometimes the fish tries to wriggle away. The “fish” in this case are the teammates of hockey players, participating in a meme that has spread on social media this year.
The trend of hockey teams posing with a teammate (often freshmen or new players) as if they’ve caught a giant fish is specific to college, clubs and amateur hockey teams and seems to have sprung from nowhere. It’s so widespread that I stopped searching after finding more than 15.
The origins are unclear, though there are some references to “boy aquariums,” a term popularized early this year with the hit TV show “Heated Rivalry.”
The idea, popular among gay men just discovering hockey, was to be a fan watching the boys play behind glass, just like watching an aquarium.
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Many of these posts come with musical accompaniment from “Fishin’ in the Dark,” a 1987 song by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with lyrics like, “You and me go fishin’ in the dark. Lyin’ on our backs and countin’ the stars.”
Regardless of the origins, the trend is goofy, team-building and fun. Here are some of the ones that caught my eye.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
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Texas A&M
Richmond Sockeyes
Florida Gulf Coast
Drury University
Aquinas D1 Hockey
Minnesota Wilderness
Oklahoma Warriors
MacEwan Hockey
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Charlotte Hockey Club
Guelph Gryphons
Masters Academy Hockey
Iowa State
University of Central Florida
Fort Erie Meteors
University of Florida
Arizona men’s volleyball even got in on the action
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