About
2013 State of Origin Streaker is a nickname given to Wati Holmwood, an Australian man who interrupted the third game of the 2013 State of Origin series[1] between Queensland and New South Wales rugby teams by streaking through the field. Online, he became the subject of a photoshop meme in which his naked body is placed into various images.
Origin
On July 18th, 2013, the third game in the State of Origin rugby series was interrupted by a drunken man who streaked through the field with three minutes of the game left.[2] The man, who was later identified as Wati Holmwood, ran approximately 100 meters in nothing but a pair of Nike sneakers before he was tackled to the ground by security. Holmwood, who allegedly covered himself in grease prior to entering the field, is now facing a lifetime ban from Australia’s ANZ Stadium.[3]
Spread
As the incident was taking place, fans discussed it on Twitter with the hashtag #OriginStreaker.[4] Soon after, a Facebook fan page[5] launched, gaining more than 104,000 likes in two days. The same day, two different photos of Holmwood were submitted to the /r/PhotoshopBattles subreddit[7][8], soliciting photoshopped images of him. Also on Reddit, a parody Nike advertisement featuring the streaker (shown below) was submitted to /r/Funny[6] where it gained more than 5,000 upvotes and 2,000 points overall. The following day, a number of news sites around Australia and New Zealand reported on these photoshopped images including the Newcastle Herald[9], the Daily Telegraph[10] and the Sydney Morning Herald.[11]
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Wikipedia – 2013 State of Origin series
[2]Brisbane Times – State of Origin streaker spoils decider
[3]ABC News – State of Origin III: Streaker faces lifetime stadium ban after disrupting series decider
[4]Twitter – Tweet Results for #originstreaker
[5]Facebook – 2013 Origin Streaker
[6]Reddit – /r/Funny: Origin streaker is really just a new Nike campaign?
[7]Reddit – /r/PhotoshopBattles: Streaker at State of Origin Game 3 (x-post from r/Nrl) [NSFW]
[8]Reddit – /r/PhotoshopBattles: Streaker at last nights State of Origin match in Sydney, Australia
[9]Newcastle Herald – PHOTOS: State of Origin streaker memes
[10]The Daily Telegraph – State of Origin streaker Wati Holmwood gets meme treatment
[11]The Sydney Morning Herald – State of Origin streaker Wati Holmwood memes light up internet