A photo of a man interacting with Taylor Rooks at a Celtics game last year has taken on a life of its own.
The meme, which originally spread last March, shows a man with a beer in his hand talking animatedly to Rooks, whose attention appears to be focused elsewhere.
Rooks, 32, hosts a digital show for Bleacher Report, is an on-air talent for Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage on Prime Video and is a pitch-woman for a number of brands, including Google Pixel.
As thousands of people were re-sharing the photo on social media with witty captions imagining what the man might be saying during Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks, Rooks clarified that it was not a new photo and that she was apologetic for the man who did not choose to be a ridiculed public figure.
“Omg this photo is never going to die,” Rooks wrote on X, adding a laughing/crying emoji. “sorry to that man.”
In a second tweet, Rooks quote-tweeted the original photo, which was shared by Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
“Look what you have done Rondae,” Rooks tweeted, with four laughing emojis.
Some of the meme captions were genuinely funny.
“I do a basketball podcast too,” one X user wrote.
Another very meta tweet referenced a sweatshirt that Ringer host Ryen Russillo has been marketing, and tagged Barstool “Pardon My Take” hosts Big Cat and PFT Commenter.
“The hoodie is RSLO because it’s short for Russillo,” the tweet imagined the man explaining to Rooks.
There was also a post that imagined the man feigning interest in the WNBA to get Rooks’ attention.
“I just bought the orange hoodie online, go women!” the tweet said.