CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 2: Flowers lay around a bronze statue of a gorilla and her baby outside the Cincinnati Zoo’s Gorilla World exhibit days after a 3-year-old boy fell into the moat and officials were forced to kill Harambe, a 17-year-old Western lowland silverback gorilla June 2, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The exhibit is still closed as zoo officials work to upgrade safety features of the exhibit. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
NCAABy Sean Keeley on

The Harambe meme is alive and well and infiltrating college football now.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, Harambe was the gorilla who met an untimely demise after a child fell into his cage at the Cincinnati Zoo. Zookeepers decided the best course of action was to put Harambe down rather than take their chances with tranquilizers. The reaction to Harambe’s death was massive and echoed across the internet, which felt just a bit out of kilter with the reaction to what some would say were more important issues.

And so, the internet did what it does and the reaction to that Harambe reaction has become a morbidly-fun commentary on overreaction in general. The meme is making its way into all corners of our life and, thanks to Boston College quarterback Patrick Towles, it has now found it’s way into college football.

Dedicating this season to the realist there ever was… #RIPHARAMBE

A photo posted by Patrick Towles (@patty_ice_8) on

There you have it, the Eagles have staked their claim as Harambe’s College Team.

As for Towles, who recently transferred from Kentucky, he’s no stranger to finding fame on the web for his nerd cred. He became a cult hero at his old school over his love for Harry Potter.

Speaking of, if you want to talk to Towles further about Harambe, don’t do it now. He’s busy reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

[SB Nation]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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