At the rate this week has been going, the sports world’s going to have to start preparing special “Victory Royale” trophies.
On Wednesday night Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster teamed up with rappers Drake, Travis Scott and popular streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins in popular online shooter video game Fortnite – a stream that was so popular it actually broke Twitch records for viewers.
For Fortnite developers Epic Games, getting Drake and Smith-Schuster to give their game that much free publicity was a huge win, and just two days later they got another big assist from the athletic world.
On Friday night during the first round of the NCAA Tournament the No. 16-seed University of Maryland-Baltimore Retrievers actually did what was thought impossible: They beat No. 1-overall seed Virginia 74-54 in what has to go down as one of the greatest upsets in all of sports history.
Following the game, Retrievers players were asked all the clichéd questions that reporters have to ask after upsets of this magnitude including the “how do you put this moment into words?” classic.
Luckily for all of us – but Epic Games and Fortnite players, in particular – Maryland-Baltimore players aren’t fluent in “athlete-speak” and don’t just give clichéd answers.
“It’s like your first Fortnite victory, honestly,” Retrievers forward Nolan Gerrity told ABC 11 WTVD-TV’s Mark Armstrong.
For anyone who has played Fortnite they know exactly what Gerrity is talking about. For those that haven’t played, however, just know that there are few sweeter things in life at the moment than getting that sweet, sweet Victory Royale.
You know, kind of like when you become the first ever No. 16 to knock off a No. 1 in history.
[relatedlinks]
