The 2019 NFL season was a year of memes before Sam Darnold.
Sam Darnold will always be the mono meme guy even in the Super Bowl
How Sam Darnold became the face of one of the NFL’s greatest memes
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
One of those came during a Monday Night Football game against the New England Patriots, then coached by the legendary Bill Belichick. The veteran head coach had a penchant for putting young quarterbacks in a blender, and that night was no different. New England intercepted the New York Jets quarterback four times that night, holding him to 11 completions on 32 attempts for just 86 yards.
In a tough moment during a harsh night for the young quarterback, he was caught on a microphone admitting that he was “seeing ghosts” on the field.
That moment has followed him to this day.
But another moment from earlier that season became an immediate viral sensation, and a popular meme template for the sports world, and beyond. Darnold missed three games at the start of the year — Weeks 2, 3, and 4 — and the first of those games was another Monday Night Football game against the Cleveland Browns.
The reason? Darnold had been diagnosed with mononucleosis.
Something that the graphics design team at ESPN made sure to point out during the broadcast:
It was amusing for many, but not the subject of the clip, who was watching the game while sick in bed.
“I was like, the sickest I’ve ever been, like on my deathbed,” Darnold said about the moment back in 2023. “I was laying in bed watching the game and that comes up. ... My phone just blew up, all my friends, just all caps ‘Hahahaha.’
“And then, of course I’m sick so I’m kinda laughing but I’m also like ‘This is just stupid.’”
However, a template was born overnight.
The meme lives on to this day. A quick spin through TikTok uncovers various templates for the #SamDarnoldMononucleosisMeme, and as Darnold’s career has taken him from New York to Carolina, Minnesota, Seattle and now Super Bowl LX, the meme continues to spread joy all over the digital world.
Of course, Darnold can get the last laugh this weekend with a win in Super Bowl LX.
And perhaps create a new meme in the process.
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