March Madness is one of the most exciting tournaments in the basketball world, and emotions are always running high when it comes to the inspiring stories of college athletics. That's especially the case with 2023's NCAA Men's tournament, which has already seen a lot of upsets and unexpected moments. There's been plenty of viral moments that will live on for a while, and one Utah State cheerleader learned that the hard way as she reflected on going viral for crying.
The final seconds of the Utah State and Missouri game wasn't that much of a surprise, as Missouri ended up defeating its higher-seeded opponent 76 to 65. What was a surprise is that the tears of one Utah State cheerleader, Ashlyn Whimpey, managed to go viral in a big way. Of course, viewers were curious about what the reason for her tears were, and now we have the answer, thanks to TikTok. Here's Whimpey's video explaining why she was crying, as well as her reaction to going viral:
@ashwhimp ♬ World's Smallest Violin - AJR
It certainly has to be weird to be a viral sensation at a sporting event, even though you're not one of the players on the court. Of course, Ashlyn Whimpey had every right to shed a tear or two, as the end of Utah State's tourney run also meant the end of her cheer career for the college.
Ashlyn Whimpey shared a more personal post on Instagram following her brief moment of fame and explained more about the moment and her time after. In a short and sweet post, the exiting cheerleader shared just what that season meant to her:
Everyone has seen how sad I was to cheer at my last game, but here is my happy tribute to one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. @usu_spiritsquad has brought more good to my life than I could’ve ever imagined. Thankful for the opportunities, countless memories, and amazing people I have met from being on this team. Forever proud to be an Aggie cheerleader! 🐮💙🤘🏼🤍
If it's any consolation for the cheerleader, Missouri fell the very next round after their defeat of Utah State. It's a moral victory, of course, as Ashlyn Whimpey might still see her face popping up in memes about college athletics by the time next year's tourney kicks off. Or maybe someone else will be the new March Madness meme, and the world will move on.
The March Madness tourney is raging on, despite all of the great shows appearing on the 2023 TV Schedule. Non-sports fans can expect their television schedules to be mildly interrupted through Monday, April 3rd. That's still plenty of time for another college student to go viral on the internet, so we'll just have to wait and see who might unintentionally rise to stardom in the coming weeks.
CinemaBlend knows a few things about great shows and movies related to sports. Check out our list of best basketball films to binge between rounds, and continue to root for your favorite teams.
