Whether it’s the climactic goal that seals an Olympic victory or the crushing choke job that defines a heartbreaking championship, sports moments are uniquely capable of capturing the full range of human emotion. And even when they don’t end in gold, a truly memorable moment will leave fans talking about it long after its initial airing. To determine which sporting moments qualify as the best viral, The Ringer has adapted an acronym to describe the characteristics that set them apart. These criteria, which combine for a “Will You Talk About This in 25 Years?” score, include:
In this case, the “Flat-Out” factor refers to the level of comedy that accompanied the homer, or the amount of buzz it generated on social media. The fact that Castellanos hit his homer on the anniversary of a tragedy is certainly one of the reasons it’s memorable, though the gimmick did eventually run its course, as the meme quickly morphed into a “Will You Talk About This at Work” test.
The ubiquity factor refers to the extent to which a particular moment has become part of sports culture. For instance, many people will remember Sarah Kwan for her incredible skating, but not everyone will know that she was once the best in her sport and never reached the pinnacle.
The ubiquity factor also encompasses how much of a cultural icon or touchstone the moment is. It’s how a simple Instagram post of Eugenie Le Sommer’s troll-tastic dance accumulated nearly 13 million impressions, and how a video of a slow-motion soccer goal from New York City FC generated more than 18 million.