Nebrasketball Army Meme of the Game: How It Works

Criteria and frequently asked questions about the creative Husker hoops postgame competition.

Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game | Dave Feit

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1. The criteria
2. Frequently asked questions
3. 2026-27 index

For years – if not decades – Nebraska basketball had one of the most tortured fan bases in all of college sports. The team struggled to win consistently. Blowouts and disappointing losses were far more likely than routine wins. The closest thing to an “upset” was the fan base’s mood towards the team.

And NCAA Tournament success? Ha! For much of the last 30 years, Nebraska basketball (aka “Nebrasketball”) struggled to get off the bubble, cementing their status as the last power conference team without a win in the Tournament.

To help make those long winters more bearable, Husker fans had to celebrate wherever small victories they could find. At some point along the way, Husker fans started posting memes, GIFs, gags, and other forms of trash talk on the other team’s social media posts.

Nobody is sure when the first postgame memes were sent, but there is consensus on when the phenomenon exploded: Nebraska’s 63-53 victory over No. 7 Creighton in December 2022. Husker fans rubbed the unlikely upset in the faces of their rivals with equal parts surgical precision and sheer volume.

Since that tipping point, a familiar pattern has emerged:

1. Nebraska wins.
2. The opponent’s social media admin posts the final score on the website formerly known as Twitter.
3. The flood gates open, with dozens – or even hundreds – of responses from Husker fans in the first few minutes.

It doesn't matter who the opponent is. College basketball blue bloods and teams you’ve never heard of have had their mentions overrun by happy Husker fans.

The regular participants have adopted a collective name: The Nebrasketball Meme Army. Thousands of Husker fans regularly seek out these memes and share their favorites.

However, most of us lead busy lives. We don’t always have time to scroll through 300+ responses (many of which are repeats). That is where the Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game Committee (NMAMGC) comes in.

We at the NMAMGC believe that by celebrating excellence in the art of meme-making we can collectively elevate the Nebrasketball fan meme game to keep pace with the rapidly improving product on the court.

The criteria

The Nebraska Meme Army Meme of the Game Committee seeks to recognize memes that are the cream of the crop. The committee selects memes for recognition based on these five criteria:

1. Humor. Does it make us laugh?
2. Originality. The “Rienk Mast / Bottom Text” meme format is a classic, but creativity is key.
3. Topical relevance. Bonus points are awarded for references to the opponent, key moments in the game, and/or Huskers who played a key role in the win. The memes about Berke Büyüktuncel’s bloody lip suffered in the 2025 Wisconsin game are a great example.
4. Little to no AI usage. We prefer our memes to be organic, farm-to-table creations. Anybody can enter a prompt in ChatGPT or Grok. The true artists crudely paste the heads of Nebraska players on pictures using Microsoft Paint.
5. Does not cross any line. The committee understands that the memes are — at their core — intended to troll the opponent after a loss. But we believe this can be done without being demeaning, obscene, lewd, or demonstrating any type of -ism. Keisei Tominaga flipping off Penn State is a classic image, but the committee is going to keep it PG-13.

In the eyes of the committee, the classic “You just lost to Gary, Indiana” meme (a map of Indiana, with a picture of forward Juwan Gary, used after he played a key role in defeating Indiana) is the gold standard. It checks every box.

Frequently asked questions

How does meme recognition work? Is it just the Meme of the Game?

In addition to the Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game, a Runner-Up and multiple Honorable Mention memes are selected.

If multiple memes riff on the same theme or topic, we like to split those into fun, one-off categories.

One of my memes was picked! What do I win?

First off, congratulations! Many people have said that being selected is an incredible honor. You absolutely should share the post with your friends and familly. Additionally, you should now consider yourself an officer in the Nebrasketball Meme Army.*

*Look: if the governor can make people admirals in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska, I should be able to appoint someone as a second lieutenant in the Nebrasketball Meme Army, with promotions based on subsequent wins.

As far as an actual prize… well… the committee believes pride is the ultimate reward.

Why aren’t my memes getting picked?

If you’re posting within the selection window (typically, the first 2-3 hours after a game ends), rest assured that your meme was viewed by the committee – even if we must venture into the “show probable spam” section of the replies.

Otherwise, focus on the five criteria listed above. The well-known meme about things that are going to happen tonight on the Husker bed may make committee members chuckle, but there is no way that is getting published. There have been multiple instances where a very creative meme concept was not selected because it looked like lazy, AI slop.

Is there a limit to the number of memes somebody can submit?

Fans are encouraged to submit as many memes as they wish. However, in an attempt to encourage participation, the committee tries to limit recognition to one per account per game.

NOTE: This is an unofficial policy that may be waived based on low numbers and/or our inability to pick just one.

Is there a season-long contest for the best meme, or to see who is picked the most?

Not at this time. A March Madness style “Meme of the Year” bracket would be fun, as would a season-long “Meme Master” competition (where points are awarded for winner, runner-up, and honorable mention).

However, to remain impartial to the many wonderful creators in the Meme Army, the committee would prefer to let somebody else be in charge of that.

If the Meme Army started because Nebrasketball stunk, shouldn’t it disband now that they’ve made a Sweet 16?

You’ll see variations of this “act like you’ve been there before” question from opposing fans, confused by the takeover of their team’s social media.

Admittedly, there is some validity to the question. You’ll note that there are no coordinated meme attacks by Husker fans when the historically successful football or volleyball teams win. Now that Nebrasketball has finally “done the impossible” there is probably an argument to made that Meme Army should disband.

But the Committee disagrees. Life can be hard. Sports are supposed to be a fun distraction. Winning is fun. And celebrating wins with a creative community of like-minded fans is a ton of fun. The vast majority of postgame memes are good-natured. Midwestern self-deprecation is a recurring theme. If things start to turn nasty, the Committee may retire, but that seems unlikely.

Someday – maybe this season, maybe five years from now – the collective passion of the Meme Army will fade. That will be okay. Nothing lasts forever. But until that day comes, the Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game Committee will continue to believe in celebrating fun and creativity.

2026-27 index

• Le Moyne

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