Harambe Has Jumped The Shark, Gorilla Image Used By College Football Recruiters

There are always news stories that bleed into the fabric of pop culture. Some will become a running joke for a couple of weeks. Some will become national phenomena that take the Internet to new heights.

Over the last couple of months, Harambe has taken over high school pep rallies, satirical news programs, and even the Web itself.

Over the summer, Harambe, a gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo, was shot by a zoo worker. A young boy had climbed into the animal’s enclosure, and zoo authorities were afraid the 17-year-old gorilla would harm the child.

The death of Harambe was the subject of news for weeks to come, but it was followed by a humorous tribute across the Internet.

#RIPHarambe was a trending topic on social media, and pictures of the gorilla were appearing all over the place. While many of these photos were used in a humorous or less-than-serious manner, they still paid a tribute to the slain gorilla.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, the University of Utah football recruiters used Harambe to try and persuade a top recruit.

Often times, college football recruiters will use some of the latest trends to gain the interest of top prospects. Just a couple of years ago, Snapchat was recognized an official form of communication between schools and recruits.

It seems that Harambe is now being used for that as well.

In their attempts to recruit running back Sione Lund, Utah designed an image featuring the player and Harambe. With the face of the fallen beast behind the Lund, the image declared, “This Season is For You, Harambe.”

While Lund, and the rest of the sports world, got a kick out of the tactic, it ultimately failed. The recruit ended up committing his collegiate career to Stanford University instead.

They may not have snagged the recruit, but The Utes definitely gained some national attention.