Crowd presence makes a lot of difference in College Football. The feature was even included in many games based on the NFL teams, as was the case with EA Sports's College Football 25, released in late July 2024, calling the feature Stadium Pulse Meter.

YouTube user @HighlightNationYT_ showed how the feature works in the game, operating as a disruptor to your offensive coordination and varying the intensity according to the strength of the rivalry between the teams.

A few weeks after College Football 25 was released, the stadium pulse meter started to appear on social media as a form of self-depreciation and ironic memes. Here's everything you need to know about the Stadium Pulse meme.

What Is The 'Stadium Pulse' Meme?

Fans of EA Sports's College Football 25 started to photoshop the Stadium Pulse meter into real-life situations by overlaying the meter's graphic on daily situations and IRL experiences, usually to express highly tense and stressful situations. X user @TeebesB demonstrated this in a July 2024 post, adding the Stadium Pulse gauge with a picture of a golf course and the caption, "Violently hungover for the morning tee time. Would def call this a hostile environment."

How Did The 'Stadium Pulse' Meme Went Viral?

People online have applied the Stadium Pulse for Photoshop edits to showcase how even simple or everyday tasks can be difficult to accomplish. The usage of the meter grew popular in late July and early August 2024, For example, on July 21st, 2024, TikTok user @bogey_golf_x3 posted a video playing golf, the Stadium Pulse meter and the text, "When you are on the first tee box and there are 3 groups behind you waiting for you to tee off but you crumble under pressure" (seen below, left).

On July 31st, TikTok user @joebro909 posted a comedy skit using the Stadium Pulse to represent a difficult video call conversation with his girlfriend (seen below, right).

@bogey_golf_x3 The pressure of teeing off on the first hole #golf #golftiktok #underpressure #audience #foryou #nerves #shaking @ESPN ♬ original sound – That’s that ish Sports

@joebro909 Never experienced this but i bet the stadium pulse goes crazy #stadiumpulse #ncaa #coach ♬ original sound – Joey

The format also became popular on X / Twitter, inspiring users to add the stadium pulse to their own stress-inducing real-world situations. For example, X @CraigSchultzy user added the meter in the photo of a person's POV in a bar and the caption "Toxic ex and friends spotted roaming the bar. Can’t get a more hostile environment than this." X user @GamecockWill69 posted a blurred photo as the POV of a drunk person driving and the caption "Gotta lock in."

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For the full history of the Stadium Pulse, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.