2024 was full of unique memes. Month after month, a new, random and unpredictable meme would come. For example, the chicken nugget with a Roblox face edited onto it was forever known as the Gedagedigedagedao Nugget, accompanied by a low-quality rendition of Cotton Eye Joe. Every meme in 2024 was equally random, but some were more appealing to many than others. So, we gathered 28 of the most popular memes from last year and put them into a tournament to determine who will be crowned the “best meme of 2024.”
Round 1 of the 2024 meme bracket produced some of the highest-turnout matches we’d ever seen in RBC history. Even beat last year’s highly popular Best Rock Band. We had some blowouts, we had some close games, and we had one match that goes even far above blowout status. Here are the recaps from round 1!
English or Spanish vs. Minecraft Movie
In the first fight of the day, English or Spanish beat the Minecraft Movie by a score of 44-20. The Minecraft movie became a meme when it was announced in early September because of its proving of the phrase, “Not everything needs a movie.” On the other hand, English or Spanish gained popularity earlier in the year during July. The fact that it maintained a longer meme status may have been the key to its victory.
Hot To Go vs. LeSunshine
In the second battle, LeSunshine dunked on Hot To Go with a score of 37-24. LeSunshine, which gained popularity in late March (which featured the mass-praising of Lebron James), had a more
prominent impact than Hot To Go, which was a dance trend popularized throughout the year. LeBron James has been a popular icon of the NBA since his career started, so the fact that the meme centers around him may have been its key to victory.
Lunchly vs. Chick-Fil-A Girl
In this matchup, the Chick Fil-A Girl easily defeated Lunchly after a final score of 36-27. The Chick-Fil-A Girl was popularized over her dramatic facial expressions after a customer didn’t want any Chick-Fil-A Sauce. On the other hand, Lunchly was merely a Lunchables knockoff that featured the “drippy cheese,” endorsed by KSI, Logan Paul, Mr. Beast, and even the Hawk Tuah Girl. Even though a team of popular internet icons endorsed the product, still, a fewer group of people “liked their cheese drippy.”
Josh Wine vs. Kevin James Shrug
Two memes that maintained their prominence by evolving into sub-memes were these two. Josh Wine was able to become ‘Joshin’ It’ and Kevin James later evolved into the Chill Guy genre of memes. Kevin James, being the winner he is, would beat Josh Wine by a score of 39-19. “When you’re in a fight against a more prominent meme, but you still win.”
Moo Deng vs. Get out (Tuco)
In this battle, the “Get Out!” meme eliminated Moo Deng with a final score of 35-25. “Get Out!” was a meme audio that was popularized by how much it sounded by Tuco Salamanca, a side character in Breaking Bad. The audio was used in various TikToks and Reels throughout the second half of the year, while Moo Deng was popular during early 2024 because of his cute appearance. In short, the “Get Out!” meme was more widespread and memorable, while Moo Deng was left in the dust.
Sisyphus vs. Bum Biddy Biddy Bum
In this hectic matchup, Bum Biddy Biddy Bum took the crown over Sisyphus by a score of 32-23. Bum Biddy Biddy Bum, a brief scene from ‘8 Crazy Nights,’ turned out to be more memorable than the various Sisyphus analogies due to the randomness of the scene from the 2002 film. Since Sisyphus didn’t win, then “one must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Rizzler vs. Darius
In this matchup, The Rizzler obliterated Darius with a final score of 41-18. Even though Darius had a recent impact during 2024 as well, The Rizzler’s recent collaborations with The Costco Guys, an extremely popular duo throughout November and December, helped beat Darius. Some might argue that the Costco Guys managed to indirectly “bring the boom” on Darius through the recent collaborations with the Rizzler. This was indeed not “Darius Day.”
Yap Dollar vs. Drake
In this battle, Drake left Yap Dollar in the dust with a score of 36-23. Drake, popularized for getting flamed in the rap genre by Kendrick Lamar, ironically flamed Yap Dollar in the meme genre. The humiliation of Drake in the rap genre throughout Spring further promoted him as a meme, which led to his victory. Drake now gets to advance to the next round as Yap Dollar says “Xiao Hong Shuuu…” one more time.
Four Seasons Baby vs. Gedagedigedagedao
In this round, Gedagedigedagedao humbled the Four Seasons baby with a score of 36-19. Gedagedigedagedao, the Roblox chicken nugget that was a staple of 2024 meme culture since January, had a higher chance of winning when matched up against the Four Seasons Baby, which was only popular in late May.
Knee Surgery vs. How a Creeper Walks
In this matchup, Knee Surgery absolutely dominated ‘How a Creeper Walks’ with a final score of 47-8. The ‘How a creeper walks’ was popular for a short time in late May, but it had no chance against the more recent impact and originality of Knee Surgery, which gained popularity throughout November and December. That helped its chances and led to the total blowout we saw. Knee Surgery moves on to round 2.
Aura vs. TikTok Rizz Party
In the second to final battle of the round, Aura decimated the TikTok Rizz Party with a score of 33-22. Aura Points, which were popularized throughout the Summer, turned out to be superior to the TikTok Rizz Party, which gained popularity in March. The TikTok Rizz party dominated the meme genre during March, but was slowly forgotten and overshadowed as other memes gained popularity. This was truly a -10000 Aura moment for the TikTok Rizz Party.
Demure vs. Dolphin Symphony
For the final match of round 1, we had two memes that rose and fell in August. Demure and Dolphin Symphony, while Demure was at first leading, Dolphin Symphony went ahead, and never looked back, winning the vote 36-19. The Dolphin meme was used for some pretty morbid messages, but not today! We’re proud of it for winning.
Round 2 –
Round 2 of the 2024 Meme Bracket had a pretty decent turnout and featured a major blowout and the instant defeat of the No. 1 seed! This is definitely a major turning point in this RBC. Here are this round’s matchups:
Hawk Tuah Girl vs. English or Spanish
What a play! English or Spanish managed to narrowly defeat the No. 1 seed, Hawk Tuah Girl, with a score of 14-12. This was an unexpected win because of Hawk Tuah’s immense popularity during the latter half of the year. However, Hawk Tuah may have lost because of how annoying the meme was and how people voted against it.
Chill Guy vs. LeSunshine
In this matchup, Chill Guy overwhelmingly dominated over LeSunshine with a final score of 20-5. The reason why Chill Guy won is because of the recent relevance of the meme. LeSunshine was too far back in the year to stand a chance against Chill Guy. In conclusion, LeBron lost the battle, but he will forever be our sunshine, our only sunshine.
Chick Fil-A Sauce vs. Get Out!
In this battle, “Get Out!” eliminated Chick Fil-A Sauce with a final score of 16-9. The “Get Out!” meme audio is still used to this day, whereas the Chick Fil-A Sauce meme is no longer trending. The Chick Fil-A Sauce meme also most likely lost because of the sheer corniness of the meme itself; The facial expressions of the cashier in the video contributed to its defeat.
Kevin James Shrug vs. Bum Biddy Biddy Bum
In this matchup, Kevin James Shrug took the crown after a score of 12-8. What a coincidence that Kevin James and Adam Sandler had a face off in the meme genre. The two had numerous movies together, making this matchup all the better. However, Kevin James turned out to be more popular than the ‘8 Crazy Nights’ scene. After this loss, Adam Sandler might as well sing, “it’s just not fair…”
The Rizzler vs. Gedagedigedagedao Chicken Nugget
In this battle, The Rizzler absolutely decimated Gedagedigedagedao with a final score of 17-4. The Rizzler is still popular to this day, whereas the Gedagedigedagedao Nugget had a surge of popularity during early 2024. Since Gedagedigedagedao is no longer a trending meme, the Rizzler was easily able to win the victory.
Knee Surgery vs. Drake
Knee Surgery managed to beat Drake by a score of 12-10. To be fair, it was never specified which Drake meme was being represented here, so we just put all of them into one category labeled, “Drake.” Knee Surgery was simply just the more iconic meme this year.
Low Taper Fade vs. Aura
In its tournament debut, the MASSIVE Low Taper Fade meme beat Aura with a final score of 13-8. Y’know… Ninja makes a statement involving his meme in nearly every single one of his streams, so it is safe to say based on this matchup, that it works.
Costco Guys vs. Dolphin Symphony
In the final matchup of the day, The Costco Guys brought the boom on Dolphin Symphony winning by a close score of 10-8 What ends up a Boom for our No. 2 seed, spells doom for Dolphin Symphony. What a shame too, that meme was actually one of the better ones.
