You underestimate the power of the Dark Side... pic.twitter.com/0exveKlZvn
β Deadspin (@Deadspin) August 9, 2016
Cloaked in a warm-up hoodie, Michael Phelps sat quietly as he prepared to swim the semi-final of 200-meter butterfly in Rio Monday night. In front of the American swimmer, his rival, Chad le Clos of South Africa, who won gold in the same discipline in 2012, performed some combination of shuffle-dancing, shadow-boxing and tongue-stretching.
NBC's cameras caught Phelps in a moment of intense concentration, a clenched look of almost total avoidance that said "Don't look at that guy. Do NOT look at that guy."
Asked about the moment later, Phelps told an NBC reporter that he was "trying not to really look" at Chad le Clos.
BORING!
Luckily, the hive mind meme-makers have their fingers on what's really going on:
@cjzero @accordingtobri pic.twitter.com/ZJZS3E06xU
β hehateme2012 (@hehateme2012) August 9, 2016
Naturally, there were a few Star Wars references in cascade of #PhelpsFace jokes:
when you gotta win gold at 3 but take over the galaxy at 4 #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/HQHlgLqUUo
β Ello Raymond (@elloelloraymond) August 9, 2016
Phelps or Anakin Skywalker? pic.twitter.com/p7iDdlq76h
β Alec White (@awhite018) August 9, 2016
Tonight the role of KYLO REN will be played by MICHAEL PHELPS. #Rio2016Β #ForceAwakens #MichaelPhelps pic.twitter.com/aX4LK9Le0R
β Fahrenheit Sun High (@KelvinMoonLoh) August 9, 2016
Other tweets tackled the vagaries of life:
When you have 10,000 spoons and all you need is a knife #phelpsface pic.twitter.com/YmC0AIPE70
β Dave Powell (@davidpowell83) August 9, 2016
When another cashier opens and says "I can help the next person in line" & someone behind you goes over #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/KNEGuRDKnm
β Andy Pandy (@Mr_AndrewHunt) August 9, 2016
When it's 9am on a Saturday morning and everyone is cutting their grass #PhelpsFace pic.twitter.com/imsO3wrRVA
β cynthia. (@Ms_CindyGriffin) August 9, 2016
Here's one for the kind of people who argue on Facebook about the Oxford comma:
When someone uses "your" when it's supposed to be "you're." #PhelpsFace #Olympics pic.twitter.com/xzergvI7Rj
β Lacy Day Wingard (@ldwin) August 9, 2016
Would McKayla be impressed with this meme?
Michael Phelps doing his best "Not impressed" #phelpsface pic.twitter.com/2IpGIk5CZv
β Like Eric with a J (@Flye75) August 9, 2016
Phelps and le Clos square off in the final for the 200-meter butterfly tonight.