An anxious moment in the stands during Ole Miss’ season opener against Louisville turned one Rebels fan into the internet’s latest obsession.
The fan, identified online as Sara M. Smith, was caught by ESPN in the third quarter with Ole Miss clinging to a 24-22 lead. Louisville had just scored a touchdown to threaten that edge, and the broadcast camera zoomed in on Smith as she stood in a light blue top, phone raised above her head, wearing a deeply concerned expression.
That close-up quickly took on a life of its own. Social media users began circulating the clip as the season’s first viral image, and accounts started attaching a name and older photos to the face on screen.
An Instagram page believed to belong to Sara M. Smith was also found, with a bio that listed her as an Ole Miss alum from Knoxville, according to later write-ups.
The attention got intense enough that Sara made the quick decision to lock down her Instagram profile so social media would stop bombarding her. It remains unknown how many people followed her before she shut down the flood of requests.
The internet also turned her reaction into a meme almost immediately. Plenty of users compared her stance to the classic college football “surrender cobra” pose, while X users piled on with wild comments about the broadcast’s close-up shot.
By the end of the night, the tension in the stands was relieved when Ole Miss pulled out a 41-38 win on a walk-off field goal as time expired. Not everybody is built to be a social media star and clearly this Ole Miss fan wanted no parts of it.
Nobody asks to be put on Live TV, but once you get in the stands, it can certainly happen at any time. Hopefully, she can move past the spotlight once the hype fades. Or maybe even use it to her advantage.
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Louisville Just Took A Painful Recruiting Hit At Center
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The timing makes the setback sting a little more, because the Cardinals are still trying to stay active with another elite big man in Lewis Uvwo. Louisville has made a late push there, but Duke is currently out front, leaving the Cardinals searching for a way to recover from one miss while trying to keep another high-end option within reach. [Read more 🡒]