As Northwestern had their dreams crushed by Gonzaga, a crying kid in the stands became the new Internet sensation of March Madness.
Northwestern was the media’s favorite team heading into March Madness, but two rounds in, they’re already out. It was always going to be tough against No. 1 seed Gonzaga, but after seeing Villanova get upset by Wisconsin, the Wildcats had to have thought they could get the job done. Unfortunately, they couldn’t match their rival’s achievement.
Northwestern was down by a lot during the first half, then put up a spirited effort in the second half only to come up short. No fan summed up the feelings of the Wildcats’ players quite like “Crying Northwestern kid”, who is quickly becoming the latest March Madness meme.
Crying Northwestern kid has a lot to live up to. Before him, there was crying Villanova flute player, while last year’s national title game elevated Crying Jordan to a whole new level. It’s going to take a while for crying Northwestern kid to one-up Crying Jordan, but with the latter having died down recently, this fan should take up the Internet’s attention for a while.
If there’s one person who will absolutely hate the unintentional success of this kid, it’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Up until now, she was the most famous Northwestern fan at March Madness. While she still makes way more money than him, and is actually known by her name, Louis-Dreyfus will have to get used to not getting attention for a change.
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It will take a while for Northwestern, and this fan, to get over this loss. But at the end of the day, they know this was the best season in Wildcats history, and that losing by six to the No. 1 seed is nothing to be ashamed of. They could either be one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament, or come back even stronger. But this loss should give Northwestern invaluable experience heading into next year.