Why 'Crying Northwestern Kid' from March Madness meme resurfaced at this year's First Four

Most college basketball fans know the feeling. Especially this time of year.

The refs miss a call (or make the wrong one) late in a high stakes matchup, your hopes and expectations hit the floor after daring to believe, and another season is over with an anticlimatic L.

It was all spelled out on the face of 12-year-old John Phillips as he watched in a Northwestern jersey as the Wildcats' best season in program history fizzled in the Round of 32 after a Gonzaga goaltend wasn't whistled. The Zags went on to defeat Northwestern, and Phillips' reaction in the moment — yelling "No!" and pulling his hands toward his head before stretching them out again as if he were pleading while his face contorted with the pain that is fandom.

We know, John. We know how you feel.

REMEMBER?Crying Northwestern Kid had a meltdown on national TV and became a March Madness hero

The relatability and humor of Phillips' reaction made the video go viral when it happened in 2017, and it still surfaces on occasion as the perfect embodiment of frustration.

Phillips, too, surfaced again at the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday.

His father, Jim Phillips, is the ACC commissioner, the league to which Pitt belongs. The Panthers defeated Mississippi State 60-59 on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, in a First Four game. Pitt, a No. 11 NCAA Tournament seed, will face No. 6-seeded Iowa State in the Round of 64 on Friday (3 p.m., truTV).

And the Phillips family is liable to be there.

Jim was the athletic director at Northwestern back in 2017 when the camera caught John in his feelings. He began his tenure as ACC commissioner in February of 2021, succeeding John Swofford, who served 24 years in the role.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Why Crying Northwestern Kid from March Madness meme was at First Four