On Monday night, the high jump final was held at the Rio Olympics, and Canadian Derek Drouin won with a final jump of 2.38 meters. Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko took home the bronze, but not before aborting one of his jump attempts in the hilarious fashion you see above. Having not sorted his feet out on the way up to the jump, he thought better of wasting an attempt (you get three chances at every height) and circled back to try again. However, devoid of context, the moment became a perfect Twitter metaphor for “NOPE.”
Mostly, the hasty retreat Bondarenko beat is a new image punchline for some classic failed hookup jokes, rendered funny once more by the new material. To wit:
https://twitter.com/ohholybutt/status/765736578295574528
https://twitter.com/HoopsOverHoes_/status/765743389090258946
when you're about to jump in the DMs and then she tweets about her boyfriend https://t.co/rAL9sIDXZ6
— conrad kaz (@conradkaz) August 17, 2016
(There were TONS of versions virtually the same as the one above, but Conrad here was first, so congrats Conrad.)
When you're about to approach a girl but realize just how far out of your league she is https://t.co/OzrWnfxuIo
— Delaware Chicken Farmer (@Brycearoni8) August 17, 2016
When you about to jump in her DM's then she tweets All Lives Matter https://t.co/klh0fIJ45U
— michaelangelo (@AsapMikeyyy) August 17, 2016
When you finally work up the courage to talk to your crush in the hallway, but then her friends come over https://t.co/NIsTjHxoHo
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) August 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/JMKTV/status/765732503701315584
https://twitter.com/harrylylesjr/status/765734681899888640
When you pick The Karate Kid on the channel guide but it's the crappy Jaden Smith one. https://t.co/5v9N0tkgHq
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) August 17, 2016
When pastor calls for tithes and offerings and you remember your bar tab from last night https://t.co/EYglWrHs0e
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 17, 2016
When you drive by McDonald's and you remember you have no money with you https://t.co/pdjmNDVnGw
— Gregoris Gkousis (@Gregoris96_YNWA) August 17, 2016
For some reason, Arsenal fans really jumped on this meme with both feet. There were a lot of “Arsene in the transfer market,” making fun of manager Arsene Wenger’s fruitless pursuits of name after name, but this was the best:
https://twitter.com/TikiTakaConnor/status/765857252980957184
But no use of the meme was more relatable or original (or less dependent on DM and hookup culture) than Karen’s tweet below. You nailed it, Karen.
When you have a 🔥 tweet but remember your boss follows you on Twitter. https://t.co/5x11uXufWL
— Karen Howell (@karenehowell) August 17, 2016