There was a time when Michael Jordan was remembered for what he did on the basketball court instead of being remembered for one of the most ubiquitous memes on the internet. Jordan was so famous that third-grade girls even felt the need to carry a life-sized cardboard cutout of him everywhere they went — or at least one did.
Twitter user @ireneliiao said that she loved Jordan so much she took this cardboard cutout of him everywhere she went for a month in third grade. Literally everywhere. There are photos of her at the grocery store, at Starbucks and at the train station. She’s seen poking her tiny face between Jordan’s hip and right arm while someone else gives him the bunny ears.
https://twitter.com/ireneliiao/status/777953155288035328
https://twitter.com/ireneliiao/status/778349559021989897
https://twitter.com/ireneliiao/status/778321606724751361
Most of us have had a healthy obsession with one of our favorite athletes, but it’s hard to imagine taking things this far. Irene was all but best friends with her cardboard cutout — at least for a month when she was a preteen.
All that’s left for this to come full internet circle is for someone to photoshop the Jordan crying face onto the cardboard cutout or on little Irene herself. Or, better yet:
https://twitter.com/ireneliiao/status/778652187824099333
(h/t CBS Sports)
