Welcome to Week 22 of THIS WEEK IN GIFs, in which we review the greatest animated sporting GIFs of the last week and determine a champion. The champion, as always, will receive an automatic bid into the GIF Tournament. That isn't happening until January or February, but it's never too early to get excited.
Before we get going, Matt Ufford, Dan Rubenstein, and myself would like to plead our cases for our favorite GIFs:
Voting will remain open until Sunday at 11 p.m. Eastern. Enjoy!
BUSTER POSEY
(Via Old Time Family Baseball, submitted by @njpanick)
Oh no. OH NO. I remember this camera shot. It's exactly the shot they used when Ziggy Sobotka snapped and then went off to kill a guy. SOMEONE SHAKE HIS HAND PLEASE
GENO SMITH
(Via @bubbaprog)
Things Geno Smith may have said immediately after attempting to drink from a cup with his helmet on:
- g'aww crabapples
- d'aww raisins
- d'awwwwwww adirondacks
- b'aww gunnyklobbs
- awwwwwww horsesocks
- h'awwwwwwwwwww wherewithals
- g'bawwwwww cheese an' jelly sandwiches
- crap
FELIX BAUMGARTNER
This is my personal selection for GIF of the week for reasons I already outlined in the video, but I have one more point to add, and that is: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH
PHILIP RIVERS
(Via Matt Ufford's Fumblr)
It's been strange to watch Philip's devolution into a footballing doofus. Perhaps I'm forgetting things, but for quite a while there, Rivers was a Trent Green-esque figure behind center: he made mistakes and he wasn't the very greatest quarterback in the league, but he was a rock for that team.
At some point last year -- probably the time he inexplicably fumbled away a field goal attempt and lost against the Chiefs -- he began the second act of his career, one that will apparently be rife with unexplainable lapses in quarterbacking. In this GIF, captured right after Rivers threw one of his 17 interceptions Monday night, his gesture isn't really one of anger or frustration. It's just, "well, maybe I can at least throw a reception to myself with his mouth guard." He cannot.
IAN RAPOPORT
"Reporter hit with ball": a tried-and-true GIF tradition. And every time it happens, I'm positive it was intentional.
LARRY FITZGERALD
Larry Fitzgerald is still one of the very most talented wideouts in the NFL. Is an elite wide receiver "wasted" on mediocre quarterbacking, or is such a setup the one in which he's meant to be, where he's most sorely needed? I can't decide, but Lord, look at this catch. That ball is probably traveling at 50 miles per hour, and he doesn't even bring it back into his body.
MICHAEL KOENEN
(Via James Dator)
Well, it's certainly not legal to attempt a forward pass after you've already tried to punt the ball, but Michael Koenen is mired in Emergency Punter Logic. In these situation, there are no manuals, only the hallucinations of your stepfather, high school chemistry teacher, college sweetheart, and dentist screaming contradictory instructions at you. In such a Yepremian climate, it is impossible to do anything football-smart.
JUMPY CAMERA OPERATOR
(Via Martin Rickman)
Let's give a rare GIF nod to the person behind the camera. I love how the lady who yells, "f***," isn't even taken out of the frame. It's just a wince, really.
VOTE!