I'm Fuckin Ballin!!!

About

I'm Fuckin Ballin!!! refers to a series of videos in which various characters are depicted playing basketball, captioned "Im fucking ballin!!!" Originating from a still image of Courage the Cowardly Dog character Eustace captioned in that fashion, the format gained notable popularity after an Ace Attorney variation became viral in March 2020. The format has often been used in conjunction with Your Honor snowclone. The meme is closely related to He Will Never Be Ballin'.

Origin

Starting on February 9th, 2003, Cartoon Network aired NBA All-Star Slam, a special marathon made in collaboration with the NBA.^[1] The marathon featured segments in which NBA players talked to their favorite cartoon characters. One of the bumper clips made for the marathon featured giant cartoon characters playing basketball on the streets of a city, including a short cut of Courage the Cowardly Dog character Eustace playing (shown below).

The exact source of the original "I'm Fuckin Ballin!" meme is unconfirmed. On July 22nd, 2019, iFunny^[2] user HughNeutron made the earliest found post of the image, which gained 59 smiles in one year (shown below).

The original image was widely circulated online in August and September 2019; for example, a July 30th post^[3] in /r/okbuddyretard received over 270 upvotes; an August 20th post in Facebook^[4] group Every meme in its place received nearly 100 reactions and 44 shares in one year.

Before September 25th, 2019, an unknown user posted a video version of the meme set to rap song "Ransom" by Lil Tecca; on September 25th, YouTube^[5] user Loxias reuploaded it to YouTube, gaining over 51,300 views in one year. On October 4th, 2019, iFunny^[6] user RacistFestiveSlothv2 posted a full-quality video, gaining over 1,900 smiles in one year (shown below). On October 8th, iFunny^[7] user YaBoyKagi reposted the video, with the meme being featured on the app and gaining over 37,700 smiles in one year.

I got black, I got white, what you want?
Hop outside a Ghost and hop up in a Phantom

Spread

The video received viral spread online with multiple reposts on Instagram, Reddit, YouTube and other platforms in the following months. On January 18th, 2020, iFunny^[8] user Cumquistador posted the earliest found derivative version of the meme based on a clip from Regular Show. The post received over 640 smiles in eight months (shown below).

The meme did not see viral spread until in late March 2020, an unknown user posted an Ace Attorney version of the meme which received viral spread online. On March 28th, 2020, YouTube^[9] user Kool Kid Kurt reposted the meme to the platform (shown below).

Starting in late March 2020, the video meme format in which various characters played basketball, set to "Ransom" and captioned "Im fuckin ballin!!!" gained moderate popularity online, with viral examples appearing on Twitter,^[10] Reddit,^[11] iFunny^[12] and other platforms.

Related Memes

He Will Never Be Ballin

He Will Never Be Ballin', often spelled He Will Never Ballin', refers to a series of memes in which someone casts doubts that a certain person or character will ever be "ballin'", with their claim then immediately disproved when that character is shown playing basketball. The meme begun in January 2019 as a version of He Will Never Have a Girlfriend, which, in turn, is a subformat of Cereal Guy; but has acquired an independent identity since.

Your Honor

Your Honor refers to a series of image macros in which a lawyer presents an absurd defense for their client, starting with the phrase "Your honor." The format gained popularity in /r/okbuddyretard subreddit in 2020 following a viral post and often features Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul character Saul Goodman as the lawyer.

Various Examples

We've hit 1,000 followers on Twitch! Thanks for the support, now let's dismantle a corrupt system.https://t.co/KwKGk5Rs2q

Video by: @cap_yogurt pic.twitter.com/kegAsEKbMw

— 「無限 – ぴょん!」 (@mugendaiyo) June 23, 2020

Search Interest

External References