The last five minutes on your NFL socials probably included a post or a meme mentioning Jared Goff, or Malibu’s Most Wanted. Or maybe both. If that doesn’t mean anything to you yet, don’t stress. Because that’s exactly what the internet has done to Goff the last week. Detroit’s quarterback has somehow become the subject of a joke that the Lions’ star looks as though he’s walking out of Malibu’s Most Wanted. And no, that’s not a dig. Lions fans aren’t freaking out either, so you don’t have to worry. It’s also not a performance-related joke. That’s how it goes in NFL meme circles.
Why Are Fans Saying Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted?
The Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted meme is a direct reference to the 2003 comedy, and that comparison between Goff and the character B-Rad, played by Jamie Kennedy. For years, NFL followers have made the connection that the Lions’ QB seems like a quintessential Californian. And that kind of makes sense, because Goff not only played at Cal, but was the first overall pick in the draft and spent a majority of his pro career with the Los Angeles Rams. Even now, there are just certain attributes that Goff has that screams SoCal. His hair is slicked back perfectly. He looks so clean. He always has a relaxed expression on his face. It’s a guy you’d imagine leaving Starbucks in Santa Barbara or Venice at 5 PM in March. And that was enough of a reference point for the fan base to latch onto the Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted comparison and run with it.
NFL Memes Never Miss On The Opportunity To Compare Players
If there’s anything I’ve learned from the fan base is that they love to make connections and memes about specific NFL players. Patrick Mahomes is often mocked for the way he talks in interviews. Aaron Rodgers has become conspiracy meme material almost every NFL season. Joe Burrow’s frequently described in pop culture. Well Jared Goff, you are now Malibu’s quarterback, too. There’s nothing wrong with the way NFL memes go about their business, and Goff has become another one of those. Maybe it’s a player said something in an interview. Maybe it’s something that’s happened to a player during the season. Maybe, like with Jared Goff, it’s a random photo that makes it look like a player fits the theme. That’s how it starts. A fan makes a joke. Some fans start sharing the post. Soon, all of a sudden, the joke becomes a reality.
But Lions Fans Are Making It Happen Too
In all honesty, Lions fans aren’t fighting the Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted meme. They’re fully embracing it. And why not? The Lions have been one of the best stories in the NFL the last couple of years. After taking him as the main part of the Matthew Stafford trade, there was an immediate expectation among the fan base that Goff was simply the temporary option. Goff was the name the Lions would eventually replace. But here we are, with a franchise that is not only competitive again, but is now viewed as a team that fans expect to do great things. It’s hard to not believe Goff and the Lions are going to do something special this season after he’s played so efficiently for the team. But the offense woke up. Detroit was in the land that fans had not visited in a few years. Hope. That’s why the jokes hit harder now. When your quarterback is falling on their face, the memes suck. But when your quarterback is playing well, they become part of the fun. For Lions fans, joking that Goff is Malibu’s Most Wanted feels like a compliment, not an insult.
Jared Goff goes from question mark to franchise guy.
It’s easy to forget how Goff’s public persona has transformed recently. Once, a lot of people said Goff played his best football in the past. Once he got away from L.A., people figured he was done, a backup QB for the rest of his career. That didn’t happen. He turned his career around and played for Dan Campbell in Detroit. Campbell put Goff on a level where he’s probably played his best NFL football. Goff is no longer that guy the Rams just let go. He’s the guy Detroit will build around. It is important. Because memes generally don’t stick with players unless they are still relevant. Nobody makes jokes about obscure quarterbacks. The fact that Jared Goff Malibu Most Wanted is even a thing is an indication that Goff is still an active and important part of the NFL.
Why the Jared Goff meme works.
The best NFL memes generally are the ones that are:
Weirdly specific and accurate
Fans get it immediately without an explanation
You don’t need someone explaining this joke to you, you just think, Oh, okay. Kind of. That’s how a meme works. It isn’t too mean, there are no scandals going on, and nobody is attacking Goff’s skills as a quarterback. It is internet culture just taking some weird idea and saying, Hey, look at this. No one can take it away. When you watch a Lions game, you know people are going to be commenting on Jared Goff looking like Malibu’s Most Wanted. And it is actually funny.
NFL fans are never going to let it go.
Football internet culture is the only way that a meme like this ever becomes relevant once again and stays around. Tom Brady kisses. Peyton Manning forehead. Aaron Rodgers darkness retreat. Any number of jokes can stick around if the internet is into it. This Jared Goff Malibu Most Wanted thing may sound bizarre right now, but don’t be surprised to see it stick around for the foreseeable future. It could easily be a part of the conversation, especially while the Lions keep winning. Because the louder you play, the louder you are online. And if Goff keeps leading Detroit to playoff games, then the memes keep going up. Maybe at some point someone makes Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted music and runs it over Lions highlights. That could already exist, for all I know.
The verdict.
The Jared Goff Malibu’s Most Wanted joke is another example of why being a fan in this league is great. The sports world loves to tell jokes at each other, and it loves building characters out of guys on teams. It turns this random reference into canon in the blink of an eye. For Goff, it is just part of the job he signed up for: playing well, changing the team’s fate, and being a version of Malibu’s Most Wanted for Detroit. Not a bad way to make a living as a franchise quarterback.
