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Swish Appeal Meme/GIF of the Year Candidates for 2012

It's getting close to the end of the calendar year, since we are all heading to Christmas next Tuesday. Over the course of this year's open threads and the like, there have been some comments with memes and GIF's after a play or something to symbolize a theme of the season. So, here are some of the notable ones we saw throughout the year, and more specifically during the WNBA season.

Candidate 1: Mr. Y U No Guy

I don't want to revisit the Mystics' woes again in detail, but though his repetitive message became stale after each loss, it was nevertheless the theme of the Mystics' season when blackandgoldforever came out with it:

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To be fair, Mr. Y U No guy came out fighting for the common folk at other times throughout the year, when he tried to get Swish Appeal lurkers to say hi, when the Mystics still couldn't find good luck in the draft lottery, and when the Sparks couldn't play home playoff games at Staples Center.

He even asked questions about the Tenleytown/American University Metro subway station in Washington and like many of you this past summer, wondered who is behind the desk of Swish Appeal Admin.

In short, he's a very versatile guy who tells it how it is. He may look angry all the time, but he really knows his stuff all around and even said a regular hello during the draft lottery.

2. Seimone Augustus celebrates pompously.

After breaking Katie Smith's franchise record for career points scored on September 4, Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus decided to celebrate.

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After winning her second Olympic gold medal, this past summer and leading her WNBA team to its second Finals appearance, Seimone has definitely earned her right to celebrate in a pompous manner to say the least. And no, I'm not mad!

3. Homer Badges

Shannon made a real nice badge for the Minnesota Lynx, which she flashed from time to time, to say the least.

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I suggest that Glen Taylor copy this design and make this a giveaway at next year's home opener so fans can literally flash their badges. And it wouldn't hurt giving Shannon some more Lynx swag as well!

4. Lindsay is just better than you. Period.

Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen is one hell of a floor general. She also is a guard who likes to drive to the hoop like a fullback in the Navy triple option offense who just runs down the middle and can't be stopped when a first down or touchdown is on the line. She had a left hand injury including suffering a broken left ring finger during the Olympics, and a bone bruise on the same hand during Game 3 of the Western Conference Playoffs in the 1st Round vs. the Seattle Storm. In Game 1 of the Western Finals, vs. LA, Whalen scored a dozen points and led the Lynx to a comfortable win, 94-77 to be exact. Better yet, she played like she wasn't injured at all, and here's what Shannon had to symbolize that time:

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In short, she's just that good.

5. Corey Gaines is happy about winning the Brittney Griner Sweepstakes

The Phoenix Mercury was accused of tanking this year because star guard Diana Taurasi didn't play much of the year due to various injuries, yet she still played pretty well for Team USA during the Olympics. When the team won the first pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, many folks thought it was foul, especially because the Washington Mystics fell to 4th. James made a meme then, I made another one with the same pic, and as a bonus I have another one with both Coach Gaines and WNBA boss Laurel Richie that I made just for this post with some not so nice subtle-ties (you'll see in the background). Enjoy all three below:

(James' meme)

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(here's mine)

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(and your bonus)

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Yeah, taking that picture with the Mystics logo in the background is just cruel, but also fitting in many ways too.

6. Sue Bird gets buckets... by herself.

Okay, this one came from the 2011 season when Seattle health care provider Virginia Mason Medical Center put out a commercial noting that Storm guard Sue Bird can't win without a team around her and is an "ordinary woman," even though she is one of the deadliest shooters in the league. In 2011, with Lauren Jackson out most of the year due to injury, Bird had a career high in scoring, and often closed out games with her shooting. She continued to show that in 2012 making clutch shots and I have a tribute in her honor:

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Because she is one of the best three point shooters and clutch performers in the league, it's safe to say that barring injury, this pic will re-appear in the comments of another open thread.

7. We like young teams at the Swish.

Unless a team has a real shot at winning a championship that year, I don't like veteran laden teams that much because they can stifle the opportunities for younger players to show what they can do. Even on veteran laden squads like the Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever, both teams had some notable younger players provide positive contributions on the court where Shekinna Stricklen played some good minutes for the Storm, and Jeannette Pohlen and Karima Christmas did the same for the Indiana Fever.

For the Mystics, there were two youngsters (Jasmine Thomas and Natalie Novosel) on a team that was actually pretty young the year before, because the head coach and general manager wanted a veteran movement to get the team back to the playoffs. While Thomas played good minutes, Novosel didn't, and the Mystics' biggest problems were at the guard position. Therefore, blackandgoldforever put this out:

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And yes, we wanted to see Thomas AND Novosel get time on the court to see what they could do. Thomas to me looks like a bench guard who could push the tempo a little but doesn't look like a starter to me. For Novosel, the jury is out, and that leads us to....

8. Unleash the Fury! I mean the Nasty!

Well, Natalie Novosel was drafted to the Mystics because she had shooting ability to stretch the defense. However, the head coach at the time hardly played her for whatever reason, either because of inexperience or in spite of me. I don't care. Well, one of the Mystics' brother teams has a video of a modified scene from the movie Road Trip where Tom Green gets real mad at a snake for not pouncing on a mouse that he put in there as bait. If you aren't familiar with the Capitals' game atmosphere, their Unleash the Fury video is played in the late part of the 3rd period (last period in NHL games) where the Caps are tied or are losing to their opponent. My take on it is here for Nat's sake:

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Unfortunately, Natalie's nasty never really got to be unleashed. Sure she didn't shoot well last year, but she was in a system where she couldn't really play to her strengths. In addition, she was able to make some plays for others as well in the little time on the court that she did have. Hopefully we'll get to see some more Nasty next year, whether she's still in DC or elsewhere.

9. Sue Bird also tells it how it is...

We return to our star guard in Washington State, where she knows the 2012 Mystics are horrible and then some, without being too obvious about it....:

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Well said Sue. Well said.

10. Cheryl Reeve is mad and gets ready for battle!

In Game 2 of the 2012 Finals, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve got a technical foul for complaining about a no-call. In frustration she threw her jacket in an almost dance-like fashion and was ultimately fined for her intensity. Shannon put the .gif in a comment.

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I don't think Coach Reeve deserved any fine, but that intensity helped the Lynx even up the series to 1-1 against the Indiana Fever though they ultimately lost the series.

A poll is below for your favorite meme/GIF for 2012.

FINAL UPDATE on January 3, 2013: Poll closes tomorrow, Friday, January 4 at 11 PM ET/8 PM PT.