superb owl meme

Superb Owl

Part of a series on Super Bowl XLIX. [View Related Entries]

Updated Feb 13, 2023 at 10:55AM EST by Zach.

Added Feb 05, 2019 at 03:05PM EST by Matt.

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Related Explainer: What's The 'Superb Owl' Meme? The Misspelling Of 'Super Bowl' For Owl-Loving NFL Fans Explained

About

Superb Owl refers to an anagram of the National Football League sporting event the "Super Bowl." The phrase is used to post memes and pictures of owls in nature during the game to disrupt discussions about football.

Origin

While it likely existed offline prior to its internet usage, the earliest known posting about "superb owl" was by Twitter [1] user @shawnw on February 3rd, 2008 (shown below). That day, the tweeted, "Superb Owl party tonight!"


Superb Owl party tonight!

Spread

On February 6th, 2011, Redditor [2] bennybuckethead launched the /r/superbowl subreddit. The rules for the subreddit state, "(1) Image posts must contain an owl (2) Text posts must be about owls." However, unlike other Superb Owl conversation, the subreddit does not only activate during the Super Bowl, which happens annually in late-January or early-February (example posts below, left and center). On February 4th, 2018, Redditor[3] TheBigBadBurritos posted what became the subreddit's most popular post as of February 2019, receiving more than 59,000 points (85% upvoted) and 200 comments (shown below, right).



In 2014, a late-night comedian used the anagram on an episode of The Colbert Report, mockingly using the term to get around the NFL's copyright of the term "Super Bowl" (screen capture below).[6]


SUPERB OWL OLB

On February 19th, 2016, "superb owl" was defined on Wikionary, [5] an online dictionary, as "the Super Bowl, in a non-trademark-infringing manner, due to the extreme litigiousness of the National Football League."

On January 31st, 2019, "The Superb Owl" was a category on the quiz game show Jeopardy! [7]

Over time, people began differentiating between Superb Owl posts and Super Bowl posts by using the hashtag #SuperbOwl, intentionally capitalizing the letter "O" in the tag. For example, on February 2nd, 2019, National Geographic tweeted[4] a GIF of an Owl with the caption "Soon. #SuperbOwlSunday." The post received more than 3,000 retweets and 9,000 likes in three days (shown below).

In 2019, the phrase grew to wider national attention as numerous media outlets covered the hashtag and usage, including USA Today,[8] The New York Times,[9] Time[10] and more.


Various Examples


0 Sierra Club @SierraClub SIERRA CLUB Who's ready for Superb Owl Sunday?! #Superbowl-ar GIF Lassen Volcanic NP @LassenNPS it's #SuperbOwlA Sunday! Did you know that four egg-Celent #owl species are known to call #Lassen their home all year long? One of these is the beautiful, talon-ted, andd deadly (if you're a rodent) California Spotted Owl. This particular mated pair had a baby in 2017. Buffalo Nat'l River @BuffaloNPS #Superbow!Sunday Barred owls live here year-round, but winter is perhaps the best time of year to see them. Trees have dropped their leaves, so it's easier to glimpse an owl's silhouette at dusk. It's a real treat to spot one and say, "That's a superb owl!" Photo: @sanjuanisnps
Lowell NHP @LowelINPS Once again, it's Superb Owl Sunday! Hood's Sarsaparilla, which was made for many years here in Lowell, often featured a "wise" owl on its advertisements and order forms. #SuperbOwlAr #LowellNPS #LikeLowell Please Order Hood's Sarsaparilla of your jobber today that you may supply the people who will soon ask you for it. We are mailing to every family in your place a paper which will convince SAPRRILLA Hoobs them that Hood's Sar saparilla possesses peculiar, positive merit. These papers e o Ho always create an odSs SARSAPAILA creased demand. Do not let your custo- mers go to some other store but be pre- pared yourself to give them what they want. ONE DOLLA Make A Note Of This Very truly yours, C. I. HOOD & CO The Atlantic Photo @TheAtlPhoto Superb Owl Sunday III - 28 photos of these magnificent nocturnal hunters. If you have some time today before the big game (or are skipping the event entirely) I invite you to have a look, it was a real hoot putting this together. theatln.tc/15pPdqPh #Superb-Owl instalment #5: a Northern Saw-whet Owl snoozes by day #SuperbOwldr #SuperbOw!Sunday #SuperbOw|2019

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