The Very Best Sports Vines of 2015
Sports and Vine go together like peanut butter and jelly. There’s something about the social media platform that elevates the way we watch sports. Big plays become instantly more shareable, sure, but it’s the seven-second limit and continuous looping that make those videos special. Perhaps they perfectly captures moments in ways only seven-second videos could. Perhaps they cut off at the most hilarious times. Whatever “it” is, here are the best sports Vines of 2015, the ones we watched over and over again. We hope you will too.
Jose Bautista’s Epic Bat Flip
There will never be another bat flip like Jose Bautista’s. There just won’t. The passion in his eyes, the brief pause at home plate, the emphatic, almost violent toss of his lumber—it’s all so perfect. And it came at a pivotal moment in the Toronto Blue Jays’ history, propelling the Jays to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. All of which ensures that this Vine will go down in baseball history as one of the coolest things to happen to the game.
Cam Newton Gets Funky in the End Zone
Cam Newton has received a lot of attention this season, not only for leading the Carolina Panthers to 14 straight victories, but also for his elaborate dance moves when he reached the end zone—which happened often. Lots of people loved it, some hated it, but whether you approved or not, you can’t deny that Newton is having a ton of fun playing the game of football. He turned the “Dab” into the most used dance move in the history of sports, but we loved this dance combination the most. Who’s doing the underwater swimmer move like this anymore? Cam is, that’s who.
Stephen Curry Drops Chris Paul
It’s hard to pick just one Steph Curry Vine from the past year. Honestly, we could dedicate an entire post to his absurd display of handles, passes and shooting. But this one feels like the seminal moment of Curry, when anyone who still doubted his status as one of the best players on the planet finally gave it up. Chris Paul doesn’t get embarrassed on the basketball court. In fact, he’s usually the one doing the embarrassing. But when Curry pulled the string on him, sending Paul crashing to the floor, it was as if he were officially announcing his arrival on the top tier of the NBA. No one can stay in front of Curry, and if anyone dares to try, this is the consequence.
Josh McCown Turns Into a Helicopter
If a single Vine could sum up everything we love and hate about the game of football, it would be this. On his first drive of the 2015 NFL season (against the Jets), Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown took off running to the end zone when none of his receivers came open. As he neared the goal line, he leapt over a defender who had gone low to tackle him, only to be hit high by another Jets player. The result was both hilarious and terrifying, as McCown went spinning in the air like a dreidel, fumbling the football in the process. Football will always be one part breathtaking athleticism and one part violent hit. This was that.
Dion Waiters Has Trouble With the Ball
We like to have fun with Dion Waiters around here. Many blogs do. His on-court mannerisms are so hilarious that it’s hard not to poke fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder guard every once in awhile. And although his penchant for standing with his arms up, demanding the rock, only for the rock to never come has made for countless side-splitting Vines, this one made us laugh harder than any of them.
Finally given the rock, Waiters can’t get a grip on it, losing it several times on his way to the basket before just straight-up missing the layup. Waiters is a great basketball player, and he appears to have found the perfect home alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. But he also provides hours of entertainment, and for that we thank him.
LeBron James Goes Super Sayan
After losing Game 1 of the NBA Finals in overtime, a game he could have won with a buzzer-beater, LeBron James had a right to be emotional during Game 2. Kyrie Irving was gone. Kevin Love had been gone for awhile. It was just LeBron and his teammates, a collection of stellar role players who needed more than James to thrive around him. Still, the Cavs stole Game 2, and with it, Golden State’s home court advantage. When the horn sounded, James exploded with emotion, and some awesome soul animated the moment as if James were a character from Dragonball Z. What a moment.
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The Very Best Sports Vines of 2015
Sports and Vine go together like peanut butter and jelly. There’s something about the social media platform that elevates the way we watch sports. Big plays become instantly more shareable, sure, but it’s the seven-second limit and continuous looping that make those videos special. Perhaps they perfectly captures moments in ways only seven-second videos could. Perhaps they cut off at the most hilarious times. Whatever “it” is, here are the best sports Vines of 2015, the ones we watched over and over again. We hope you will too.
Jose Bautista’s Epic Bat Flip
There will never be another bat flip like Jose Bautista’s. There just won’t. The passion in his eyes, the brief pause at home plate, the emphatic, almost violent toss of his lumber—it’s all so perfect. And it came at a pivotal moment in the Toronto Blue Jays’ history, propelling the Jays to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. All of which ensures that this Vine will go down in baseball history as one of the coolest things to happen to the game.
Cam Newton Gets Funky in the End Zone
Cam Newton has received a lot of attention this season, not only for leading the Carolina Panthers to 14 straight victories, but also for his elaborate dance moves when he reached the end zone—which happened often. Lots of people loved it, some hated it, but whether you approved or not, you can’t deny that Newton is having a ton of fun playing the game of football. He turned the “Dab” into the most used dance move in the history of sports, but we loved this dance combination the most. Who’s doing the underwater swimmer move like this anymore? Cam is, that’s who.
Stephen Curry Drops Chris Paul
It’s hard to pick just one Steph Curry Vine from the past year. Honestly, we could dedicate an entire post to his absurd display of handles, passes and shooting. But this one feels like the seminal moment of Curry, when anyone who still doubted his status as one of the best players on the planet finally gave it up. Chris Paul doesn’t get embarrassed on the basketball court. In fact, he’s usually the one doing the embarrassing. But when Curry pulled the string on him, sending Paul crashing to the floor, it was as if he were officially announcing his arrival on the top tier of the NBA. No one can stay in front of Curry, and if anyone dares to try, this is the consequence.
Josh McCown Turns Into a Helicopter
If a single Vine could sum up everything we love and hate about the game of football, it would be this. On his first drive of the 2015 NFL season (against the Jets), Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown took off running to the end zone when none of his receivers came open. As he neared the goal line, he leapt over a defender who had gone low to tackle him, only to be hit high by another Jets player. The result was both hilarious and terrifying, as McCown went spinning in the air like a dreidel, fumbling the football in the process. Football will always be one part breathtaking athleticism and one part violent hit. This was that.
Dion Waiters Has Trouble With the Ball
We like to have fun with Dion Waiters around here. Many blogs do. His on-court mannerisms are so hilarious that it’s hard not to poke fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder guard every once in awhile. And although his penchant for standing with his arms up, demanding the rock, only for the rock to never come has made for countless side-splitting Vines, this one made us laugh harder than any of them.
Finally given the rock, Waiters can’t get a grip on it, losing it several times on his way to the basket before just straight-up missing the layup. Waiters is a great basketball player, and he appears to have found the perfect home alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. But he also provides hours of entertainment, and for that we thank him.
LeBron James Goes Super Sayan
After losing Game 1 of the NBA Finals in overtime, a game he could have won with a buzzer-beater, LeBron James had a right to be emotional during Game 2. Kyrie Irving was gone. Kevin Love had been gone for awhile. It was just LeBron and his teammates, a collection of stellar role players who needed more than James to thrive around him. Still, the Cavs stole Game 2, and with it, Golden State’s home court advantage. When the horn sounded, James exploded with emotion, and some awesome soul animated the moment as if James were a character from Dragonball Z. What a moment.