Althouse: "In less than 24 hours, a six-second Vine of the fourth quarter between Ohio State and Alabama on Thursday night has been viewed more than 29 million times."

January 3, 2015

"In less than 24 hours, a six-second Vine of the fourth quarter between Ohio State and Alabama on Thursday night has been viewed more than 29 million times."

"Why?"

ADDED: It's funnier backwards.

42 comments:

Michael K said...: That poor girl. That is kind of the way Kate Upton got her big career push but I'm not sure it will have a similar effect on this girl. If the speculation is correct on what was going on, maybe she has a black eye by now.; 1/3/15, 9:20 AM
David said...: Why? Because people wonder what she is feeling so guilty about? Because it's such a non-typical reaction to being on the tron? Because he seems hardly to notice that she is there?

In an event, we were witnessing the end of a romance.Or more than one.; 1/3/15, 9:25 AM
traditionalguy said...: She smells his cologne she gave him for Christmas for a thrill. It's addictive. We all just want to know what he wears.; 1/3/15, 9:26 AM
pm317 said...: The reverse video in the article is even more mortifying for the girl. Social media and the 'eye' put everybody who is in a public space under surveillance. It is not always the egregious and the extreme that get the attention but normal everyday human reactions that someone somewhere finds 'interesting'. Not cool. There used to be a private space around you even in public but no longer.; 1/3/15, 9:30 AM
MayBee said...: A black eye? Michael K?; 1/3/15, 9:33 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: She is experiencing a childhood memory long thought lost.

Here she is now, at the game with her boyfriend, displaced in time, and she wonders if this really is the real world and would her little girl self have ever recognized this future.

Father would watch football on the television and father was SO BIG; even though she did not understand the game she would sit beside him, safe and warm: she remembers the scent of his after-shave, and the smell of pot roast cooking in the kitchen.

Grandmother was in the hospital, and was grandmother ever this young? Will she ever be that old, and what will she remember? Will she remember this moment? What will it mean? Is everything meant to be lost?

This is probably where i should mention 'blowjob.'

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 9:37 AM
MayBee said...: I see how it got so many loops. I can't get it to stop.; 1/3/15, 9:38 AM
Wilbur said...: I thought her right hand brushed up against the crotch of the fan standing right behind her glum male escort.

And then she realized it and was embarrassed.

Big whoop.; 1/3/15, 9:45 AM
pm317 said...: @Wilbur.. I think you are right.; 1/3/15, 9:50 AM
pm317 said...: click on it to stop (or start). Yeah, Vine 'loop' metric is loopy.; 1/3/15, 9:50 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I see how it got so many loops. I can't get it to stop."

It's like the national debt clock.; 1/3/15, 9:51 AM
Michael K said...: "A black eye? Michael K?"

She does look worried. I didn't say I approved but why look worried ?; 1/3/15, 9:57 AM
Darrell said...: Somebody passed her a pill and she puts it into her mouth. Probably drugs from her guilty look.; 1/3/15, 9:58 AM
Chuck said...: There are a couple of reasons for the popularity of this, Professor Althouse. I think you are trolling your audience by not explaining more.

This thing went viral after the website "Jezebel" theorized ("reported" is a term that might be used, if it hadn't been so completely fabricated) that the woman was in fact at the game with another man and her furtive touching of the man on her right was either a stranger or, as Jezebel postulated, her "side piece" and she had effectively been caught on national tv in an extra-relationship affair.

You could ask Jezebel why they ran that fabulist story. But in any event it appears to have been wholly untrue. The man she touched is in fact her boyfriend and their mutual friends are now publicly wondering what all the fuss is about.

The social media generation seems to be countering the basic falsity of the story by claiming that it is all just about quality of her expression (never mind any illicit background story). If you believe that, I have some swampland in the blogosphere to sell you.

This is where I stop understanding the internet in the 21st century. This was a false story. Never has it been more true; Reverend Charles Spurgeon's famous quote that "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can put its boots on."

Indeed, the world being what it is, even that quote has been falsely attributed to Mark Twain, Sir Winston Churchill, and many others.

Now, a lie can travel all the way around the world at the speed of light; before you can even say the word "boots."

And let's be clear in singling out Jezebel. You remember Jezebel. That fine journalistic institution that attacked the conservative writers who had the temerity to question the veracity of the Rolling Stone/UVa "rape" concoction.; 1/3/15, 10:03 AM
Meade said...: Even funnier in reverse.; 1/3/15, 10:03 AM
Chuck said...: Here is the Jezebel page on this:

http://jezebel.com/did-this-osu-fan-get-caught-on-live-tv-with-her-sidepie-1677079353

As you can see, Jezebel was deliberately soft with its suggestion that the man who was touched was her "side piece." And just as clear is the fact that a massive (and now seemingly unwarranted) reaction was triggered in the audience as witnessed in the comments.

Thanks, "Jezebel." We now have a new all-purpose avatar for shitty reporting and lowest-common-denominator "journalism."; 1/3/15, 10:09 AM
David said...: On further review . . . .

Perhaps he had just issued a very unfortunate fart.; 1/3/15, 10:13 AM
Lyle said...: it's the guy behind them saying, "we are okay" and gesticulating.

there is nothing wrong with what anybody is doing.; 1/3/15, 10:14 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "Perhaps he had just issued a very unfortunate fart."

This begs for a discussion on 'fortunate' farts.

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:17 AM
Bob R said...: They were all remembering the Virginia Tech game.; 1/3/15, 10:22 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor. Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:24 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:28 AM
Old Dad said...: The young lady is simply patting her boyfriend's neck when the little guy in the lower left turns to his bigger college buddies and says "Hey look, we're on the Tron." The young lady glances quickly at the Tron and feels a tiny bit embarrassed about this very innocent PDA.; 1/3/15, 10:31 AM
Ann Althouse said...: @Chuck

Ironically, you're the one linking to Jezebel and giving it profile and traffic.

I find the video fascinating on its own. I have no idea why you think I'm trolling by not including the Jezebel business. You are playing into its business model.

In fact, I'd seen that speculation, but the video on its own prompts anybody to wonder what was going on and to make up stories about what it could be.

Why do you want to give this to Jezebel, which you disapprove of, and criticize me, calling me a troll?

That's just bizarre.; 1/3/15, 10:32 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I think the guy gives a little shake which she's sensitive enough to (over)react to.

People are responding to the spontaneity and the reality of human behavior.

Not enough of that around to be seen.; 1/3/15, 10:34 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "I love you so much. I hate war so much."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:35 AM
MayBee said...: It's like the national debt clock.

Ha ha ha ha ha1

And come on, criticizers! The "side guy" stuff is written on the Vine. You see it after it loops for the 59th time or so.; 1/3/15, 10:41 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "My breasts are full of love and life. My hips are round and well apart. Such women, they say, have sons."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:47 AM
Chuck said...: Professor Althouse what I think is so bizarre is the fact that this nothing video has become such a social media touchstone.

There is an awful lot about the world of social media that I don't like, and even more about Jezebel that I don't like.

It is a nothing video; anything that people are reading into a few seconds of the woman's eyes and expression is just their own imagining.

People devoting this sort of attention to Vine, Instagram or Facebook probably need to get a hobby. Golf is one that I'd recommend. At least get outside and go for a walk or something.

Anyway, you ordinarily like to be clear about facts, and language, and whatever intentions can be supported by clarity of facts and clarity of language.

Jezebel, it seems to me, is a megawatt-powering of some stupid women's useless and pointless chatter. What might earlier have been confined to a banal telephone conversation is now the subject of electronic publishing. This story is a very good exemplar of that.; 1/3/15, 10:49 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: " It has an under-taste.
[pause]
A chalky under-taste."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:51 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "When I was little I thought for sure that one day, I could be a big, big star. Or maybe just beautiful... beautiful and rich, like the women on TV. Yeah, I had a lot of dreams. And I guess you can call me a real romantic, because I truly believe that one day, they'll come true. So I dreamed about it for hours. As the years went by, I learnt to stop sharing them with people. They said I was dreaming. But back then, I believed it whole heartily.
[pause]
So whenever I was down, I would just escape into my mind... to my other life, where I was someone else. It made me happy to think that all these people just didn't know yet who I was gonna be. But one day they'll all see."

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 10:56 AM
Chuck said...: In thinking further about your comment(s), Professor:

It is interesting that you brought up a notion I hadn't even thought about; that is, giving Jezebel a link (and therefore more page-hits). I guess that is the beseline motivation in the e-world. Anything that gets hits, works.

I don't care about giving (or denying) Jezebel more hits; I was interested in exposing Jezebel to ridicule from critically-minded observers. You have to supply the link, in order to fairly criticize them, isn't that right? At least that is what I think.

It's just weird, how the hive-mind of the internet seems to work in a case like this. I think I'd be pissed off if I were the subject of something like this. I'd want a lawyer to parse Jezebel's pages for a defamation claim. And I'd want published apologies from all concerned. I would want to humiliate the person or persons who, wittingly or unwittingly, exposed me to any level of humiliation.; 1/3/15, 10:58 AM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Imposing a narrative when there is none.

Seeing something doesn't mean it is important.; 1/3/15, 11:03 AM
George M. Spencer said...: I hear Jennifer Anniston is playing her in the movie.; 1/3/15, 11:21 AM
john said...: Meade said...
Even funnier in reverse.

Not only that, the guy in back of her is now clearly mouthing "Paul is Dead".; 1/3/15, 11:26 AM
Chuck said...: Here, illustrated, the one-dimensional importance of the "this is an illicit affair caught on jumbotron video" narrative...

The "story" (do we even call this a story?) of there being an affair is what drives this thing. The "affair" aspect is what fueled the humor in this parody-story from sports website TheBigLead:

http://thebiglead.com/2015/01/02/ohio-state-fan-caught-with-side-piece-during-sugar-bowl/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral

And that essential part -- the "affair" part -- has been completely fabricated, just like the violent rape on a floor littered with broken glass in a Virginia fraternity house. Oh, Jezebel.

But there can be no doubt that that "affair" part is (to borrow a term from Top-40 music) the "hook."; 1/3/15, 11:28 AM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: Those Ohio State fans aren't known for their personal hygiene.You see what she does with her hand and her mouth. That's a classic booger eating move. Or perhaps she's picking the lice off the back of her boyfriend's head and eating it.

It's 2015 and a Michigan man will coach Michigan. All is right with the world.; 1/3/15, 11:35 AM
Anonymous said...: I watched it several times and thought maybe the problem was the guy seemingly hurling in back and to her side while the announcer said "spit back."

She smelled her fingers (or itched her nose) for a second after touching a guy's neck? That's what I missed? Really? The only real indicator that something odd is going on is the faraway look in her eyes. She doesn't actually eat anything.

But then, I've ignored people who are full on playing with their naked nether regions (while I am on the podium) with not much more than the slightest pause.; 1/3/15, 11:48 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "I was reading the Althouse blog before coming to the game and I cannot get my mind off the commenter Laslo. It is like he peers into my inner self and sees the real me, the 'me' that I hide from others behind this distant facade. I wonder who he is: maybe I have met him and didn't even know it...

Could he have been that man on the bus where we locked eyes and I felt a buzz of wiggly electricity travel through my body? For a brief moment I thought I was naked in his eyes, and it felt GOOD. I wonder if he remembers, and if he pictures ME in an All-American High School Cheerleader outfit? All these thoughts are racing through my mind, and I am powerless to stop them...

Laslo, I am looking out through this Jumbotron: do you see me, Laslo? Do you see me?

I am Laslo.; 1/3/15, 11:59 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Heck. She's cute as a button. Got that whole Princess-Leia-prisoner-of-Jabba-the-Hutt thing going on.; 1/3/15, 3:22 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Hey, Tyrone-
I like this candid with Carrie Fisher and her stunt double caught sunbathing. Fisher is the star, she looks towards the camera. The body double is not the star, she looks away from the camera.
https://itsasmallweb.wordpress.com/tag/princess-leia-organa/; 1/3/15, 4:38 PM
caplight45 said...: I thought she was dippin' snuff.; 1/3/15, 9:15 PM