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          Athletes join in on the 'Baby Yoda' meme frenzy

          • Tory Barron, ESPN EditorDec 6, 2019, 02:45 AM
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              Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports.
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          You must unlearn what you have learned about elite internet memes in the past because "Baby Yoda" is better than all of them.

          OK, maybe there's a slight recency bias accompanying that statement, but it's certainly in the GOAT discussion. "Baby Yoda" burst on the social media scene so quickly -- and with such fervor -- that "woman yelling at a cat" meme couldn't see it coming. Heck, even the "I'm gonna tell my kids" meme didn't stand a chance. The Face App #AgeChallenge? Can hardly remember it.

          We're not going to say that the force is strong on the Internet right now, but just know we're thinking it. Luckily for us, the sports world is not immune to the magic of "The Child," as 50-year-old Yoda is referred to in the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian." From Russell Wilson to Tennessee football, athletes and teams alike are jumping on meme train.

          Here are some of our favorites (shoutout to the LA Clippers for the creativity):