U.S. Olympic Curler Looks Like Super Mario, And So The Memes Begin

The Winter Olympics have once again brought in the onslaught of jokes and memes at the expense of Curling, a sport that not everyone (including this writer) understands, but some people really enjoy. At the forefront of U.S. curling this year are siblings Matt and Becca Hamilton, who have arguably become superstars within their sport as well as within U.S. news for their impressive performances on the ice.

This year, after having helped dominate the sport in the U.S. for three years alongside his sister, Matt Hamilton has taken center stage for what might be the best combination of red sportswear and a thick mustache ever. Despite – or perhaps in spite of – their fall at the hands of Team Finland in this year’s mixed doubles curling competition, the Hamiltons are enjoying a batch of entertaining posts and edits likening the elder sibling to one very important video game hero: Super Mario.

Noticed first by ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Hamilton’s bright red jersey and baseball cap that he wore on the ice makes him look a lot like Super Mario, who isn’t exactly a stranger to curling himself. The former video game plumber-turned-superhero has competed in curling in two different Mario & Sonic Olympic game titles, so it’s not too much of a stretch to see why some folks might have to double-take at Matt Hamilton’s ensemble.

The memes and edits haven’t stopped coming since then. Here are a few of our favorites:

Its-a Matt!

Darren Rovell, a sports business reporter at ESPN, was the first person to make the visual comparison between the plucky Super Mario and the equally spirited Matt Hamilton. “Olympian who most could be confused with Mario: Matt Hamilton from the US Curling Team,” wrote Rovell on his Twitter account, posting pictures for very scientific comparison. One must wonder if there’s such a thing as “Olympic-bounding,” because while Hamilton didn’t seem to have any intentions of resembling Super Mario, other U.S. teams have dressed as comic book superheroes on purpose. Either way, we’re here for it. 

This Makes it Official

Not long after Rovell noticed the similarities, the official U.S. Olympic team account on Twitter responded with their best guess at what Matt might look like as the actual Super Mario. If anything, this might be lending to some fun outfit ideas for the next time Hamilton competes. 

He’s Into It

Thankfully, it seems like Hamilton is all about the comparisons. He posted a much more detailed photoshop edit of himself on the ice in response to the gentle ribbing he was taking from his team’s account, and seems to have his hopes high for the next time he competes on the 14th. Who needs Valentine’s Day when you can watch Super Mario take the men’s curling competition by storm? 

He’s Everywhere, Really

Elsewhere in Sports Land, other fans are comparing Hamilton’s mustache and cap look to that of Andy Reid, the current coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Honestly, there may be more comparisons to the coach than to Super Mario. 

Here We Go

Hamilton has more to concern himself with than popping out of green tubes (the Prime Minister of Japan already took care of that act for him back in Rio), of course. He and his sister are both competing in the men’s and women’s curling competitions that are set to start this Wednesday. While both of them have been playing the game for decades, they only recently teamed up three years ago to enter mixed doubles, and Matt is the older sibling. “I think it’s kind of come full circle now that Matt kind of got me into curling and has taught me a lot of things along the way,” Becca told NBC ahead of the competition. “So to be doing it at this level is pretty surreal experience.

Catch the Hamiltons on February 14th during NBC’s coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics.