Step aside dancing Left Shark: there’s a brand new Super Bowl meme in town, and he’s taking the public by storm.
Videos by Rare
During Sunday night’s game between the Eagles and the Patriots, a lucky kid got the chance to go where few have gone before — on stage to meet the halftime performer. The Selfie Kid — aka 13-year-old Ryan McKenna — earned his 15 minutes of internet stardom when took his shot at getting a photo with Justin Timberlake in the middle of the pop star’s performance of “Can’t Stop This Feeling.” McKenna was in the right place at the right time when JT stopped in his section while making his way through the crowd.
As McKenna told the Pioneer Press, he “just went for it.”
“I just thought to myself, ‘I’ll never get this opportunity again in my whole life,’” McKenna told the publication Monday morning.
AND HERE IT IS.#SelfieKid with @jtimberlake!#HalftimeSelfie#SuperBowlSelfie#SuperBowl #PepsiHalftime pic.twitter.com/Edww4CSSm7
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 5, 2018
A seventh grader from Massachusetts, McKenna joined his father at the game, and since his reaction was captured on his phone for all the world to see, it’s been a whirlwind.
“It’s been so crazy,” McKenna said. “I don’t even know what to think. All my friends have been texting me and stuff. It’s insane.” Like any true youth in Generation Z, McKenna has been quickly watching his social media clout grow.
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“I’ve gotten so many notifications. I’ve got like 36 Snapchats, like 21 DMs and like 150 follower requests on Instagram.”
While Ryan is definitely enjoying his sudden fame, the internet was also loving their brand new meme. Viewers took to social media to post their theories about what Ryan was supposedly really doing while he was looking at his phone before getting his famous photo, and they are hilarious.
#SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/h2myKvtJVz
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) February 5, 2018
“I think I just got turned into a Meme” pic.twitter.com/uL5RsSeC9a
— Ryan Quinn (@ryan_quinn9) February 5, 2018
When your friend go dancing with strangers at the club and u just don’t know what to do #selfiekid pic.twitter.com/MzH4237Z1y
— crazy broke asian (@tribranchvo) February 5, 2018
— ian (@GALDYTRON) February 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/OliverBaxxter/status/960341810005491712
What #selfiekid was really doing pic.twitter.com/zemd7k1XIZ
— flamin hot cheetos (@beelorboy) February 5, 2018
This teen is definitely living a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and he knows it.
“It was already crazy to be at the Super Bowl in the first place,” Ryan McKenna added. “Then all of a sudden I’m up on the jumbotron, and everyone is talking about me. I can’t believe it.”