About
Smokin’ Jay Cutler is a photoshop meme that involves digitally manipulating photographs of the NFL athlete and Chicago Bears’ quarterback to make it seem as if he is smoking a cigarette on the field during the games.
Origin
On September 13th, 2012, Chicago Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler became the subject of a minor controversy in the NFL blogosphere after the athlete was seen on camera yelling at his teammate and left tackle J’Marcus Webb before walking past him with a cold shoulder bump. Cutler’s confrontational moment with his teammate quickly prompted criticism of unsportsmanlike behavior from the fans and other professional football players alike, leading the athlete to issue a statement regretting his actions (shown below):
On the following day, Brandon Freeberg created the single topic blog smokinjaycutler[1] on Tumblr to feature a series of photoshopped images in which Cutler appears to be surly and smoking a cigarette on the field.
Spread
On September 19th, USA Today[4] published an article titled “Smokin’ Jay Cutler lights up the web.” The same day the meme and Tumblr blog was covered by the Bleacher Report[5] and CBS Sports.[6] On December 5th, The Village Voice[8] named the blog the Best Sports Tumblr. On December 10th, Complex[3] named the meme one of “The 25 Funniest Sports Memes of 2012.” The blog’s output and popularity reached its peak during the latter half of NFL’s 2012-2013 season, though the blog continued to remain active for the 2013-2014 season as well. As of September 2014, the Facebook page[7] has gained over 2,000 likes.
Aaron Rodgers’ Tribute
In late September 2014, Smokin’ Jay Cutler saw a second wave of news media coverage[9][10] when Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers revealed that his trademark “smoking a cigarette” gesture is a tribute to the Tumblr blog (shown below.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]Tumblr – smokinjaycutler
[2]UpRoxx – Aaron Rodgers Says This Audible Is A Tribute To ‘Smokin’ Jay Cutler’
[3]Complex – Smokin’ Jay Cutler
[4]USA Today – Smokin’ Jay Cutler lights up the web
[5]Bleacher Report – Smokin’ Jay Cutler Is Newest Brilliant Meme Taking Aim at Moping Bears QB
[6]CBS Sports – Meme Watch: Smokin Jay Cutler is the NFL’s hottest (and most apathetic) Tumblr site
[7]Facebook – smokinjaycutler
[8]Village Voice – The Winners Of The 2012 Village Voice Web Awards
[9]SBNation – Aaron Rodgers says that smoking signal really is a tribute to a Jay Cutler meme
[10]The Big Lead – Aaron Rodgers Says that He Does Pre-Snap Smoking Gesture in Tribute to Jay Cutler