With the NBA season winding down that means everybody is starting to gear up for the playoffs. It also means that players and teams are going to start making their award cases for the various end of season awards.
This year’s MVP race seems to be coming down to a two person finish with James Harden of the Rockets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks squarely ahead of the pack. There’s a chance of the Thunder’s Paul George pushing himself back into the race with a late push, but a recent injury has slowed him down and likely put him out of the running.
As all these players try to make their cases on the court, their teams are attempting to make one off of it. Sometimes that requires viral marketing. Which is why the Rockets have chosen to go with an old classic. The “Vote For X” t-shirts. A reference to the cult classic movie Napoleon Dynamite and their “Vote For Pedro” t-shirt. For the Rockets, they want everybody to “Vote for Harden.”
https://twitter.com/houstonrockets/status/1111040202385035265?s=21
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Wait, a Napoleon Dynamite reference? In 2019? And yes. That is the proper reaction to a reference to a movie that came out in 2004. Now, what if I told you this wasn’t even the first Napoleon Dynamite reference of this season? Earlier, around the All-Star break, the Trail Blazers tried to create buzz for Damian Lillard’s All-Star candidacy by having C.J. McCollum wear a “Vote For Damian” shirt and dance like Napoleon did in the movie.
This is just going to be a meme that never, ever dies apparently. In 20 years when athletes are making a campaign that requires voting, they will create “Vote For X” shirts in the style of a weird movie from 2004. That is the true impact of Napoleon Dynamite, somehow being relevant all these years later.
